Englishman tracked a swift pace, ran down pacesetter Solitude Dude and easily held off favorite Crude Velocity to win the G1 Woody Stephens Stakes in track-record-equaling time at Saratoga on Saturday, June 6.
José Ortiz rode the winner for trainer Cherie DeVaux in the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds, reversing the outcome of the G2 Pat Day Mile four weeks ago, in which Crude Velocity collared Englishman at Churchill Downs.
The three-year-old colt by Maxfield not only earned his first Graded Stakes victory in the Woody Stephens, but he also became his sire’s first G1 winner from his first crop. Englishman also equaled the Saratoga track record set in 1978.
Stalking the early pace from the outside as Solitude Dude zipped through an opening quarter of :21.98, Englishman was the looming danger turning for home after a half-mile in :43.97. Going wide as they swung into the lane, the Englishman sprinted away from Crude Velocity as that one bravely tried to reel him in. There was no stopping Englishman though, as he continued to draw off through the lane to win by five and three-quarters lengths.
Final time for the seven furlongs was 1:20.40.
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 2026 Stakes winners include Ivy Girl, winner of the Weber City Miss Stakes and Holly’s Holiday, winner of the Valley of the Vapors Stakes at Oaklawn Park. The stallion is also represented by Del Mar Stakes winner Max Ciao, G1-placed Five Bars, and the Stakes-placed pair of Liberty National and Cosmic Heat.
Maxfield's fee for the 2026 breeding season is $50,000, live foal.
