Mineshaft | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘One Step At A Time’: Undefeated Maxfield Stars In Fair Grounds’ Mineshaft

Maxfield is finally getting the chance to make up for lost time. Godolphin's homebred was forced to miss the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) in 2019 and the Kentucky Derby (G1) last year but returned with aplomb in winning the local Tenacious to close out 2020. Saturday he starts as a prohibitive favorite in the $200,000 Mineshaft (G3) at 1 1/16 miles, which should serve as a perfect launching pad for what his connections hope will finally be a season-long campaign.

The Mineshaft is a worthy supporting feature on a six stakes, 13-race card dubbed “Louisiana Derby Day Preview Day”, which is highlighted by the $400,000 Risen Star (G2), presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln, and the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2), presented by Fasig-Tipton. The Risen Star is by far the deepest and most competitive Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prep to date and will offer a total of 85 Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers (50-20-10-5). The Rachel Alexandra will be offered for 3-year-old fillies, with the same 85 qualifying points up for grabs for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

The Mineshaft, Rachel Alexandra & Risen Star are all part of the “All Stakes Late Pick Five” (races 9-13) with an estimated pool of $400,000 and the “All Stakes Late Pick Four” (races 10-13) with an estimated pool of $750,000.

Trainer Brendan Walsh has had to endure some obvious disappointments with Maxfield (post 4 at 4-5 on Mike Diliberto's morning line, with Florent Geroux to ride), a 4-year-old son of Street Sense who is perfect in four starts and has long thought to be among the most talented horses in training. Showing it in the afternoon has proven to be a bit more difficult, as he's started just four times in what is now his third season of racing. Maxfield missed the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a minor foot injury and then got derailed off the Derby Trail last year when he came out of a June workout with a condylar fracture of his right front cannon bone.

Walsh regrouped, aimed for 2021, and checked off the first box when Maxfield returned in the Dec. 19 Tenacious and won easily by 2 ½ lengths. He also did it being much closer to the lead. He settled in second early, which was in sharp contrast to his first three wins, when he was no closer than eighth at the first pace call. For Walsh, the adaptability Maxfield showed only added another club to his bag.

“He broke good, he was right outside the pace horse, and it worked out good,” Walsh said. “He's a horse that doesn't need to be ridden any particular way, he's very easy to rate as well. If someone wants to go quick, that's fine, we can sit off of them as well. We can ride him any way the race suits.”

The Mineshaft will also be just the second time Maxfield has been able to put back-to-back races together. He did it to start his career, winning on debut at Churchill in September 2019 before blasting Grade 1 foes by 5 ½ lengths in Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity a month later. Maxfield won the Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill in June before his injury, then was off until the Tenacious. Needless to say, Walsh is looking forward to getting his stable star on an extended run for the first time in his career.

“I'm excited that we can get him on a schedule and build a foundation,” Walsh said. “The succession of the races is relatively close so you don't have to be as hard as them as you probably do going into the first race (off a layoff). Hopefully he can get into a nice little mode from here on in and we can keep ticking over. I think he'll improve for having had that first run. He was a little fresh too. And fitness-wise he should improve as well with that run off the bench.”

As with any trainer with a star horse, Walsh is left to balance the present with the future. Add in a horse like Maxfield, and the highwire becomes that much trickier to cross. Walsh expects to know a lot more after the Mineshaft.

“He's taught me not to look too far ahead but I have plenty of things going around in my head,” Walsh said in regards to the rest of his campaign. “You try to take it one step at a time. Saturday is going to be a big step for the horse. We'll get a great idea where we stand with him and where we are going forward.”

John Oxley's Enforceable (post 1 at 6-1 with Adam Beschizza) won the local Lecomte (G3) last year and was eventually seventh in the Kentucky Derby for trainer Mark Casse. The 4-year-old son of Tapit never could quite get back to his local win, as he lost six straight, though four came against the best of his generation. Enforceable put that all behind him Jan. 17, when he dazzled winning a local optional-claimer by eight lengths in extremely fast time, which has Casse's Fair Grounds assistant Dave Carroll eagerly looking forward to the Mineshaft with a horse that's been a barn favorite.

“He's loves the Fair Grounds and he's been near and dear to us with all the big races like the Kentucky Derby that he's taken us to,” Carroll said. “We were so proud of him last time; we weren't expecting that. Can he reproduce that back-to-back? We'll have to see but he's really doing well and we're looking forward to it.”

Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Clint and Lance Gasaway's Wells Bayou (post 2 at 6-1 with John Velazquez) should improve off a third-place finish in the local Jan. 16 Louisiana (G3), as that was his first start since running fifth in Oaklawn Park's Arkansas Derby (G1) last May. The 4-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky wired the Louisiana Derby (G2) last year for trainer Brad Cox, who expects to see a tighter version of Wells Bayou Saturday, who has been training with Cox's talented 3-year-old Mandaloun, one of the favorites in the Risen Star.

“He had a fantastic move (on the 6th) working a bullet with Mandaloun and I'm excited about running him,” Cox said. “He should move forward, but he'll have to move way forward to beat a horse like Maxfield.”

Calumet Farm's homebred Blackberry Wine (post 7 at 5-1 with Gabriel Saez) set a slow pace and held second in the Louisiana and has finally been able to string a few strong races together. The 4-year-old son of Oxbow has flashed plenty of brilliance throughout his career for trainer Joe Sharp but has had trouble backing it up. Blackberry Wine romped in an optional-claimer here in December prior to the strong run in the Louisiana, which signals he could be poised for another strong effort in a race without a lot of early speed. He is cross-entered in the Fair Grounds on turf (race 11).

Completing the Mineshaft field from the rail out: the Estate of James Coleman Jr.'s Chess Chief (post 3 at 8-1 with James Graham), who won an optional-claimer here December 18 for trainer Dallas Stewart; Al Rashid Stables' Dinar (post 5 at 15-1 with Shaun Bridgmohan), third in the Tenacious for trainer Cherie DeVaux; and Courtlandt Farms' Sonneman (post 6 at 8-1 with Joe Talamo), second in the Tenacious and fourth in the Louisiana for trainer Steve Asmussen.

First post for Saturday's 13-race “Louisiana Derby Preview Day” card will be at noon CT.

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Senor Buscador Takes His Show On The Road In Saturday’s Risen Star

It's 712 miles from Remington Park in Oklahoma City to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans. Trainer Todd Fincher always wanted to make the trip to the historic local oval, but he never had the right horse for the journey. He does now. Fincher rolls into town with the undefeated Senor Buscador, who rates as an exciting newcomer in a sterling renewal of Saturday's $400,000 Risen Star (G2), presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln.

Run at 1 1/8 miles, the Risen Star is the 13th and final race on a six-stakes card billed as Louisiana Derby Preview Day. It is by far the deepest and most competitive Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prep to date and will offer a total of 85 Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers (50-20-10-5). The $300,000 Rachel Alexandra (G2) presented by Fasig-Tipton, at 1 1/16 miles, will be offered for 3-year-old fillies, with the same 85 qualifying points up for grabs for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). In addition, four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the card – the $200,000 (G3) Mineshaft at 1 1/16 miles, the $150,000 Fair Grounds (G3) at 1 1/8 miles on turf, the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes at 5½ furlongs on turf, and the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Joe Peacock Jr.'s homebred Senor Buscador (post 5 at 6-1 on Mike Diliberto's morning line with Luis Quinonez to ride) went from an unraced maiden in early November to a wise guy Kentucky Derby contender a little more than six weeks later, as he parlayed a 5 ½-furlong maiden win at Remington Nov. 6 into a dominant 5 ¾-length win in the Springboard Mile there Dec. 18. With Senor Buscador an unknown no more, Fincher had plans to make. Fair Grounds, with a long stretch and the Risen Star, which is followed by the March 20 TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) at 1 3/16 miles, made perfect sense. Saturday can't come soon enough.

“I've never been there, it's a big race, there's Kentucky Derby points on the line and I'm really looking forward to it,” Fincher said. “I think the distance is absolutely in his favor. My wish list would be two preps and hopefully qualify for the Kentucky Derby.”

Senor Buscador, a son of Mineshaft, has lagged in last in both starts before unleashing a devastating stretch run to win going away, though it was the two-turn Springboard Mile that really got people talking. Last on the backstretch in the field of 10, he delivered an extended wide run, circled the field, and drew off with ease by 5 ¾ lengths. And while he's been a turtle early in his races and a hare late, Fincher says it's not necessarily by design.

“He has more speed than you've seen but he just does his own thing,” Fincher said. “We didn't teach him to do that. We taught him to come from behind but not walk out of the gate and do a slow roll before he does anything. He's so nerve-racking to watch him run. They get so far back and you think 'What the heck.' But he makes it work.”

Fincher and the Peacock family have had a long relationship and he's trained several of Senor Buscador's siblings, including his half-brother Runaway Ghost, who won the Sunland Derby (G3) in 2018 but was forced to miss the Kentucky Derby that year with an injury. Fincher knew his little brother had a pedigree to be a runner, but also knew you can't count on anything in this game.

“We hoped he would develop into this kind of horse but you get let down too many times,” Fincher said. “We knew he could run quite a bit but we didn't have any idea he could be this level, but we hoped. But you just never know until you see it on the track. There are no similarities (among his siblings), they are all different. The Peacocks have been great to me and I've been very fortunate to have them in my corner and we're really looking forward to seeing what Senor Buscador can do.”

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Midnight Bourbon (post 6 at 6-1 with Joe Talamo) led every step of the way in the local Jan. 16 Lecomte (G3), but has shown plenty of versatility in his career as well. The son of Tiznow took advantage of an alert beginning from his rail draw and had plenty left in reserve while winning his first start of the year for trainer Steve Asmussen. Midnight Bourbon showed promise at 2, hitting the board twice in graded stakes but looked like a more polished product in his 3-year-old debut. With the distance of the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby a bit longer than the typical mid-winter Derby prep, Asmussen expects Midnight Bourbon to only get better.

“I think the 1 1/8 miles is right in his wheelhouse and we're excited about running him in this series because of the distance of these preps,” Asmussen said. “He's an efficient mover with a high cruising speed and horses like that can be very effective at the Fair Grounds. We were very pleased with how he started off the year, and this is the next step.”

Godolphin's homebred Proxy (post 2 at 8-1 with John Velazquez), a 3-year-old son of Tapit, has progressed nicely in New Orleans this winter for trainer Mike Stidham, as he led gate-to-wire over maidens then did the same against allowance foes in December, before stepping up and running a strong second in the Lecomte. For Stidham, seeing Proxy settle a bit off the pace in the Lecomte and battle on late against much tougher horses was a sign he's moving in the right direction, though he also feels there's still more room for improvement.

“He's still a work in progress but I like having a 3-year-old that I think has something left that we haven't seen yet,” Stidham said. “He's still figuring it out, both mentally and physically. But in his works, and in his races, he seems to be getting a little better, and I think that's where he is right now. Now that we're getting into these longer races, it starts to separate them a little bit, and I think that's really going to help my horse, and I'm not sure that's the case for everybody.”

Juddmonte Farms' homebred Mandaloun (post 11 at 9-2 with Florent Geroux) was a somewhat disappointing third at odds-on in the Lecomte for trainer Brad Cox after chasing the pace while wide throughout. The son of Into Mischief entered that race 2-for-2 off sprint wins in Kentucky but didn't kick on quite enough through the lane behind Midnight Bourbon. Cox has opted to add blinkers to Mandaloun for the Risen Star. He is looking for a more focused performance, and has been extremely pleased by his two works with them.

“I feel like the works with blinkers have shown some progression and he can take that next step forward with them and have more focus late,” Cox said. “He was right there in the Lecomte and he was wide. The two horses that finished in front of us had a little more seasoning and I think he got a lot out of that race.”

Cypress Creek Equine, Arnold Bennewith, and Spendthrift Farm's Keepmeinmind (post 12 at 3-1 with David Cohen) would bring plenty of class should he make the trip from Oaklawn Park for trainer Robertino Diodoro. The deep closing son of Laoban was third to 2-year-old champion Essential Quality in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland in November then won Churchill's November 28 Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) to end his campaign. Keepmeinmind is also entered to run in the Feb. 15 Southwest (G3) at Oaklawn, but with a few potential pitfalls, Diodoro wants to have options.

“We just wanted to cover our bases,” Diodoro said. “We are concerned with the weather in Arkansas, and we're also concerned with a short field as well. The rumor is it could be a five or six-horse field. That's good for a speed horse, but with his (Keepmeinmind's come from behind) running style, I'm not doing backflips over that, to be honest. We're going to make a decision by Wednesday.”

Trainer Tom Amoss has an uncoupled pair of Union Rags colts in Greg Tramontin, Joel Politi, Brittlyn Stable, and Asaro Enterprises' Carillo (post 4 at 15-1 with James Graham) and Nice Guys Stables, Manganaro Bloodstock, and Steve Hornstock's Defeater (post 9 at 12-1 with Dean Saenz), and both will look to bridge the gap from a one-turn debut win to the grade 2 ranks. The former won going a one-turn mile at Aqueduct Jan. 8 for trainer Chad Brown and was subsequently purchased Jan. 14 for $875,000 out of a dispersal sale from the Estate of the late Paul Pompa, while the latter pulled clear late going 6 furlongs locally Jan. 2 and defeated a strong field that included third-place finisher Gershwin, who impressed breaking his maiden here Feb. 6. Carillo hasn't been with Amoss long but shows two local works, which give his trainer reason for optimism.

“He trains like he ran and shows a great deal of stamina in the mornings and in his workouts,” Amoss said. “He shows a very good turn of foot at the end. The horse is pretty straight forward since I've gotten him. He needs to show he can make the transition from one to two turns, but he's not the only horse like that at this time of year. All things point to that being something he's going to successfully do, but he hasn't done it at this point.”

Completing the Risen Star field from the rail out: trainer Dallas Stewart Racing Stable's and WinStar Farm's homebred Starrininmydreams (post 1 at 12-1 with Brian Hernandez Jr.), undefeated in a pair of Churchill starts at 2 and making his stakes and 3-year-old debut; Marylou Whitney Stables' homebred Beep Beep (post 3 at 20-1 with Miguel Mena), fourth in a strong local optional-claimer January 16 for trainer Norm Casse; Barrett Bernard, Tagg Team Racing, and West Point Thoroughbreds' O Besos (post 7 at 12-1 with Marcelino Pedroza), an easy stretch running winner of a pair of sprints at the meet for trainer Greg Foley; Kevin Porter's Sermononthemount (post 8 at 50-1 with Declan Carroll), a 7-furlong allowance winner at Delta Downs January 21 for trainer Tim Dixon; Calumet Farm's homebred Santa Cruiser (post 10 at 15-1 with Adam Beschizza), fourth after a slow break in the Lecomte for trainer Keith Desormeaux; and Wayne T. Davis' Rightandjust (post 13 at 15-1 with Mitchell Murrill), who wired Beep Beep and eight others in the optional-claimer off the claim for trainer Shane Wilson.

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True Timber ‘Slightly Off,’ Ruled Out Of Pegasus World Cup

Trainer Jack Sisterson revealed via Twitter on Wednesday that Grade 1 Cigar Mile winner True Timber will be forced to miss this Saturday's G1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. The 7-year-old son of Mineshaft came up “slightly off” after training on Wednesday, Sisterson wrote, and the trainer “elected to defer to caution and not compete in the Pegasus.”

Sisterson added: “Although it would have been a life changing experience having a runner in the Pegasus, True Timber gave us the excitement leading up towards the Pegasus. Best of luck to all the runners in the Pegasus. We and True Timber will be rooting for you!”

Owned by Calumet Farm, True Timber's record includes five wins, five seconds, and nine thirds from 29 starts for earnings of $1,215,150.

The remaining Pegasus field includes: Knicks Go, Sleepy Eyes Todd, Harpers First Ride, Code of Honor, Jesus' Team, Tax, Math Wizard, Mr Freeze, Independence Hall, Kiss Today Goodbye, and Coastal Defense.

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Twice in a Lifetime? Senor Buscador May Give Peacock Family Second Shot at Derby

Most of the racing world was likely asleep or otherwise occupied late Friday night, but the small fraction that was awake and watching the action at Remington Park may have witnessed the breakout of a star 2021 3-year-old as well as the birth of a feel-good story of the year candidate. Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), a homebred with just one 5 1/2-furlong start under his belt, was slow out of the stalls in the $200,000 Springboard Mile S. before rocketing past every rival in the 10-horse field to score a dazzling 5 3/4-length romp. It was the kind of performance that gives owners goosebumps. But if you ask owner/breeder Joe Peacock, Jr. it was no surprise.

“To be honest with you, we expected that, which is almost worse, having expectations like that, it really makes you nervous they’re just not going to show up,” Peacock said of the Todd Fincher trainee. “We were very happy with it. Todd has always been high on the colt. He said, ‘These don’t come around very often, and he’s one of those,’ so we’ve been excited about him for a while.”

It was less than three years ago that the Peacock family, which is based in Texas but races mostly in New Mexico, felt similar excitement for a brilliant colt that could improbably take them to the GI Kentucky Derby, only to end up heartbroken. Runaway Ghost (Ghostzapper), a half-brother to Senor Buscador–more on that later–had just scored a powerful victory in the GIII Sunland Derby and looked like a legitimate hopeful to wear the roses. But just a few weeks later, he suffered a fracture to his shin and had to be taken out of Derby consideration. Reasonably, Peacock assumed his one shot to run in America’s most fabled horse race had disintegrated the way dreams so often do in this game.

“When Runaway Ghost got hurt, we were devastated,” he said. “First for the horse, but also just for missing that opportunity. It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime deal, right?”

One would think. But along comes Senor Buscador, who posted a 93 Beyer, tied for the seventh-highest number among all juveniles in 2020, in his Springboard Mile romp.

“It’s huge for our family,” Peacock said. “Who doesn’t want to run in the Derby? This business has so many highs and so many lows, you have to not get out over your skis on these things, which is what we’re trying to do right now but it’s difficult.”

The fact that the Peacocks are in this position can be traced to their broodmare band, one that contains just a single mare. A small operation, to be sure, but when that one mare is a horse as prolific and consistent as Rose’s Desert (Desert God), who needs more? Bred by Peacock’s father, Joe Sr., Rose’s Desert was a New Mexico terror on the track, winning seven state-bred stakes and earning over $600,000 in her career.

“She was something else,” Peacock said. “She ran 15 times, won 10 and was second the other five. She never got beat more than a length and a quarter in her lifetime.”

But her racing accomplishments are now a side note to Rose’s Desert’s rapidly developing legacy as a star broodmare. When she retired from racing in the fall of 2013, the Peacock family wanted to give her a chance to truly prove her mettle in the breeding shed and secure matings with top stallions, which meant she couldn’t stay home in New Mexico.

“When we stopped running her, we said, ‘She’s special. She’s got to go to Kentucky and we have to see if she can make it as a broodmare,’ because we had the faith in her that she would do that,” Peacock said. “And she’s been remarkable. Everything she’s had can run. She’s had four foals race, three of them are stakes winners and the other one is a filly we own [Our Iris Rose {Ghostzapper}] who’s three and there’s no doubt in my mind she’ll win a stakes race when it’s all said and done. She’s in foal right now to Candy Ride, so we’re excited about that. She’s such a wonderful animal. I really feel like she’s the gift that we’ve been given and that’s the one we want to ride with.”

Back in that spring of 2018, the Peacock family thought they’d be watching the mare’s first breakout progeny run in the Derby. Instead, they (almost) saw her produce her next one.

“Senor Buscador was born Derby weekend in 2018 and we were there in Kentucky,” Peacock said. “We had made all these plans to take the family up there. Then when Runaway Ghost got hurt and wasn’t able to race, we had never been to the Derby so I said, ‘What the heck.’ We just went anyway, took all of the family, and we were hoping we’d get to see the foal when we were up there, but as luck would have it, she had him on Sunday right when we got home. We joked at the time that that might be a good omen, that he was born on Derby weekend.”

Racing is the family business for the Peacocks, and it goes back nearly 50 years to when Joe Sr. was running quarter horses.

“One of the first horses he had ended up running in the All-American Futurity, which is like the holy grail of quarter horse racing, so the hook was set there,” Peacock said of his father.

Eventually Peacock Sr. made the transition to Thoroughbreds full-time and brought along his son, who had been going to the track since he was 10 years old.

“It’s been special, our family’s been doing it for a long, long time,” Peacock said. “I’ve got five adult children, they’re all married and we have six grandchildren and it’s a real good opportunity and excuse to get everybody together, get away from home, go do something and hopefully see a horse win.”

The Peacocks’ half-century racing heritage has culminated by striking gold with Rose’s Desert. And while her first opportunity to produce a Derby starter fell just short, she incredibly has another contender in Senor Buscador, who Fincher is likely to point to Derby preps at Fair Grounds or Oaklawn next. Peacock gets choked up talking about the colt, who was the final horse bred by Joe Sr. and Jr. together. The family patriarch passed away earlier this year.

“I bred that horse with my dad and what he would like to do is get the stud book and go through it, look at all the pedigrees and find horses that all through the pedigree, won money,” Peacock remembered. “He liked to see that they were successful at the racetrack and made money, so he made the decision to breed to Mineshaft. It was the last horse we bred together, and it turned out to be the right one.”

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