BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures’ Queen Maxima stalked Princess Moche (Per) early then prevailed inside the sixteenth pole to win the $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes (Grade 3) at Santa Anita Saturday for her seventh win, fifth in stakes, in her last nine races. The 5-year-old Jeff Mullins-trained Florida-bred mare was the best of nine fillies and mares, 4-years-old and older, who raced six-and-a-half furlongs on the downhill turf course.
Breaking from the outside post one before the unique right-handed first turn, Queen Maxima quickly crossed over to the inside to race second behind Princess Moche with Spicybug third on the rail and Omnipontet fourth on the outside. Princess Moche clipped off a :22.10 first quarter to lead by two lengths approaching the first left turn before Queen Maxima began to close after a :44.15 half mile.
Queen Maxima and jockey Juan Hernadez drew even has they crossed over the dirt track and onto the main turf where Princess Moche continued to fight on. Queen Maxima and Princess Moche matched strides until Queen Maxima got the edge in the last 100 yards, winning by a half length in 1:11.69. Princess Moche was second, less than two lengths faster than Spicybug in third. Egyptian Mau (SAf), Nay V Belle, Florida-bred Rosie Jeeks, Ominipontet (Brz), Miss Lizzy, Antifona (Fr) completed the order of finish.
“She’s really good. She is really professional and we had a really good trip,” Hernandez said. “We broke from the inside and she was really fast out of the gate. I was able to get a good position in second, just tracking [Princesa Moche] in front of me. She loves that, she runs on the lead too, but when the other horse got the jump on me I decided to start tracking her. I was really comfortable all the race, I felt under my knees I had a lot of horse. I crossed the dirt and I waited a little bit longer and she put in a good run.
“She is so smart and knows where the wire is at.”
Queen Maxima paid $2.80 to win.
Starting with a first condition, $50,000 optional claiming at Santa Anita in December of 2024, she won five straight races. The streak concluded with three stakes, two graded, the last of which was track record performance at Churchill Downs in the Grade 3 Unbridled Sidney on May 2, running five-and-a-half furlongs in 1:01.29 on a good turf.
Her only losses in the last 14 months came in two close sixth-place finishes in consecutive races in on the grass at Del Mar in July and August. She less than three lengths behind winner Medoro in the $109,000 Osunitas going a mile and was just two lengths behind placed-winner Motorious (GB) in the Grade 3 Green Flash against males going five furlongs. She hasn’t lost in two starts since including a victory in the $201,000 Senator Ken Maddy presented by Breeders’ Cup Charities going five furlongs Oct. 31.
Queen Maxima has a career record of eight wins in 13 starts with two seconds and earnings of $630,460. She is by Bucchero out of Corfu Lady, by Corfu and was bred in Florida by Saul Rosas.
