South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Maximum Security breaks right through
HALLANDALE BEACH — March is the month for Cinderella stories in sports and Maximum Security created an exhilarating one for thoroughbred racing Saturday.
A bargain-basement colt, who could have been claimed out of his Dec. 20 debut for $16,000, he led every step of the $1 million Florida Derby to ring up his fourth straight victory and head to the Kentucky Derby as one of the horses to beat.
“I guess this ruins my fishing in May,” winning trainer Jason Servis said.
Luis Saez rated Maximum Security brilliantly, outrunning the 2-1 favorite Hidden Scroll to the first turn, then slowing down the fractions so that his horse was still fresh when they turned for home. “When I asked him to take off, I had plenty of horse,” Saez said.
Maximum Security had won his first three starts by more than 34 lengths against lesser competition. The mile and an eighth Florida Derby was a quarter-mile longer than he had
ever been asked to race. He’ll have to go another eighth of a mile in the Kentucky Derby. “No problem,” Saez said.
Servis didn’t know what to expect, stepping up in company and distance. “If he had run sixth, would I have been surprised? No.”
He weighed running Maximum Security in the 7-furlong Hutcheson last week. He began to feel good about his decision, he said, when Maximum Security was running easily on the lead down the backstretch in moderate fractions.
Servis explained he risked having the colt debut in a bottom level claiming race because, “I didn’t think he would get claimed. To me, he wasn’t attractive. He had some stuff I’d rather not get into.”
His owners, Gary and Mary West, bred Maximum Security to one of their own sires, New Year’s Day, so there was no expensive stud fee to recoup. “I just didn’t think I would lose the horse.”
When Maximum Security galloped home first by almost 10 lengths, Servis couldn’t dial the racing office fast enough to see if there
was a claim in. “When they told me, ‘No,’ I went, ‘Whew!”
Servis said it has long been a dream that he would be the second half of a brother act to win the Kentucky Derby. His brother John saddled Smarty Jones to win the 2004 Derby.
Longshot Bodexpress was closest at the wire, 31⁄2 lengths behind, but never threatened the winner, who completed nine furlongs in 1:48.86.
Hidden Scroll, who seemed to be in excellent stalking position all the way, came up empty when it counted and faded out of the money. He is off the Derby trail, according to trainer Bill Mott. “We probably bit off more than we could chew at this point. We’ll back off and kind of start over with him.”
Fountain of Youth winner Code of Honor rallied to pick up the show money, 31⁄4 lengths out of second and three-quarters of a length ahead of Bourbon War.
Maximum Security earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, more than enough to
Florida Panthers right wing Troy Brouwer (22) celebrates behind the goal toward teammate Riley Sheahan (15) after scoring during the second period Saturday in Boston. secure a spot in the starting gate. Bodexpress got 40 for second, which also should be enough.
Code of Honor had secured his spot in the Run for the Roses by winning the Fountain of Youth.
The Wests, who also own Game Winner, the Eclipse winner last year as outstanding juvenile and at the top of most Derby rankings, didn’t come from their California base to South Florida to watch Maximum Security run.
Servis said the last time Maximum Security won, he called the Wests at Santa Anita and Bob Baffert was close enough to hear the conversation. “He said, ‘Good, Game Winner will have someone to run at.’ ”
Baffert had better hope he is easier to catch in the Kentucky Derby than he was in the Florida Derby. Maximum Security, ridden by Luis Saez, leads the field out of turn four during the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on Saturday in Hallandale.