Maxfield colt romps on debut at Churchill Downs

Freshman sire Maxfield's two-year-old son Englishman won impressively on debut in a seven-furlong dirt MSW at Churchill Downs on Friday, September 19, becoming his sire's 12th winner and third TDN Rising Star.

Breaking sharply under jockey Jose Ortiz, Englishman went straight to the lead while being pressured by Tagermeen through quick fractions of 44.74 and 1:08.70. Englishman put away that rival and pulled away in the stretch under minimal urging, going on to win easily by seven lengths in a final time of 1:21.35.

Bred in Kentucky by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, Englishman is out of the winning Speightstown mare In It for the Gold, a daughter of G1-placed Stakes winner All Due Respect. He was a $400k Keeneland September yearling purchase in 2024.

In addition to Englishman, Maxfield's other first-crop winners include Max Ciao, winner of the I’m Smokin Stakes at Del Mar; Saratoga debut winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Five Bars, who is targeting either the G1 Darley Alcibiades or the G1 Frizette for her next start; Saratoga debut MSW winners Boomington and Rock It Rob; TDN Rising Star Magna Victor; Lilies N Paradise, debut winner at Churchill Downs (and now Stakes-placed at Delaware Park) and Just Asap, a seven-length debut winner at Ellis Park (and now Stakes-placed at Monmouth Park).