Derby Remix: Don't call Maxfield a comeback
May 28th, 2020
"Don't call it a comeback
I've been here for years"
So goes the beginning of LL Cool J's paean to staying at the top of his game, while doing things on his time, "Mama Said Knock You Out."
Though "years" might be pushing it, Maxfield has been around since the fall, as long as many of the top Derby prospects. Though Maxfield's start in the Matt Winn (G3) was his first since a dominant Breeders' Futurity (G1) score in October, his presence in his division had loomed heavily since he was ruled out of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) in November.
After a foot bruise and ankle surgery, trainer Brendan Walsh felt no need to rush Maxfield. The colt returned to the work tab in February. Once the Kentucky Derby was postponed, there seemed to be all the time in the world to plan a campaign.
In the meantime, we could only wonder. Would Maxfield come back the same after surgery and time off? Would he train on well enough to keep pace with horses who had already shown their mettle at the age of 3?
"But now I got a new tour
I'm going insane, starting the hurricane, releasing pain
Letting you know that you can't gain, I maintain"
Maxfield was there all along — perhaps not in the starting gate, but doing exactly what he needed to remain at his best. As emphatically as LL Cool J told off his doubters 30 years ago, Maxfield silenced his Saturday in the Matt Winn.
Going two turns in his first start in seven and a half months was no easy task. He won but also showed a different dimension. In both starts as a 2-year-old, Maxfield came away slowly, then finished with a dazzling rally. In the Matt Winn, he got better early position, despite being bumped around early, then proved as unrelenting as ever down the lane.
With that kind of effort in his first start back, Maxfield has reiterated his place among the best in his class.
Just don't call it a comeback, so much as a well-orchestrated campaign.
Derby Remix is a weekly series that crosses the lines of culture and Kentucky Derby contenders.
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