BY SANTA ANITA PARK PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
ARCADIA, CA—After a highly successful 2025 campaign, multiple graded stakes-winning Florida-bred Queen Maxima will kick off her 5-year-old season as the expected favorite in the $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes (Grade 3) for older fillies and mares Sunday at Santa Anita Park. The Las Cienegas is contested at about six-and-a-half furlongs on Santa Anita’s unique hillside turf course where Queen Maxima has won four of five with a second.
Last year, Queen Maxima won five of seven starts and banked $457,360 for trainer Jeff Mullins and co-owners Dutch Girl Holdings LLC and Irving Ventures LLC. Her victories included the setting a new track record at Churchill Downs in the Grade 3 Unbridled Sidney in May, covering five-and-a-half furlongs on the turf in 1:01.29; and in the Grade 3 Monrovia at Santa Anita in April. In her second start in 2025, she won the $100,000 Wishing Well at Santa Anita in February and finished the year on Oct. 31 at Del Mar, taking the $201,000 Senator Ken Maddy.
Queen Maxima has a career record of seven wins with two seconds in 12 starts with earnings of $570,460. The chestnut daughter of Bucchero was a $40,000 purchase by Michael Pender as agent at the 2023 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Sale of 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age.
She is out of Corfu Lady, by Corfu and was bred in Florida by Saul Rosas.
Queen Maxima has post one and will have regular rider Juan Hernandez aboard.
Florida-bred Rosie Jeeks – ©Fasig-Tipton Photo
The fresh face in the lineup is Florida-bred Rosie Jeeks. A 5-year-old mare by World of Trouble, Rosie Jeeks has been sidelined since last June when winning the $102,000 Goldwood Stakes over five-and-a-half furlongs on the grass at Monmouth Park. That effort came for trainer Chad Brown and co-owners Team Hanley and Thirty Year Farm for whom she was two-for-two in 2025, both at five-and-a-half furlongs on the Monmouth Park turf. Prior to the Goldwood, she won a first level allowance race on May 25.
In July, Rosie Jeeks was entered in a horses of racing age sale in Kentucky and sold for $300,000 to Narvick International. She resurfaces in California for trainer Neil Drysdale and owner Marcia Naify.
Lightly raced with three wins from five career starts and earnings of $140,820, Rosie Jeeks was bred in Florida by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck. They sold her through their Summerfield consignment for $62,000 to RiceHorse as agent at the 2022 OBS October Yearling Sale. RiceHorse consigned her to the 2023 OBS Spring Sale where Jay Hanley and Thirty Year Farm bought her for $240,000.
Jockey Armando Ayuso rides Rosie Jeeks from post seven for her local unveiling.
The Hall of Famer Drysdale also sends out Egyptian Mau (Saf) for owner Team Valor International. Egyptian Mau most recently bobbled at the start and still prevailed in a second-level allowance sprinting down the hill in October. It was the 6-year-old mare’s third start in the U.S. Egyptian Mau will again have Mike Smith aboard.
Princess Moche (Per) was imported from Peru last summer and looks to be on the ascent for trainer Doug O’Neill. She’ll be cutting back in distance following a second-level allowance win going a mile on turf with a stalking trip on Nov. 8 at Del Mar. Previously, Princess Moche cleared her first level allowance condition when sprinting down the hillside course for the first time.
Mirco Demuro has been aboard for both wins and again has the call and they will break from post three.
Others set for the Las Cienegas are Spicybug with Ricardo Gonzalez in the saddle, Omnipontet (Brz) has Kazushi Kimura named to ride, Emisael Jaramillo will be aboard Miss Lizzy, Nay V Belle with Umberto Rispoli up and Tiago Pereira will have the reins on Antifona (Fr).
Return to the January 7 issue of Wire to Wire
