BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Queen Maxima kicked into high gear at the top of the stretch to run down front-runners Princess Moche (Per) and Amorita then held off a fast-closing Spirited Boss to land a Florida-bred exacta in the $102,000 Mizdirection (Listed) at Santa Anita Saturday. Running off just two-weeks rest after finishing fourth in her title defense in the Grade 2 Unbridled Sidney presented by TwinSpires at Churchill Downs on May 1, Queen Maxima topped nine fillies and mares, 4-years-old and older, going six-and-a-half furlongs on the downhill turf course.
In addition to the $60,000 winner’s check, Queen Maxima earned a $4,000 Export Incentive paid by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association to the family of the late Saul Rosas, who bred the mare. Export Incentives are paid out for out-of-state wins at specific levels by registered Florida-breds.
Queen Maxima was not originally scheduled to run in the Mizdirection, but Mullins changed plans after the disappointment in Kentucky.
It was her third win in four starts this year, all in stakes at the six-and-a-half-furlong distance down the hill at Santa Anita. She has never finished out of the top three in seven career starts off the hill, winning five. The Florida-bred Champion Female Turf Horse of 2025 started this year winning the Grade 3 Las Cienegas on January 11 and finishing third in the Grade 3 Monrovia on April 4 before heading to Kentucky for the Unbridled Sidney.
Saturday, Queen Maxima started best of all from post six before her longtime jockey Juan Hernandez took her back to fifth as they made the right-hand turn and crossed over to the left bend coming off the hill. Princesa Moche and Amorita showed the way onto the main turf when Hernandez shifted Queen Maxima to the far outside to make to a clear run at the leaders. Meanwhile, Mike Smith on Spirited Boss navigated through horses at the top of the stretch and emerged to challenge with a sixteenth of a mile left to run. Queen Maxima jetted clear as Spirited Boss shifted inside late but ran out of room.
Queen Maxima prevailed by three-quarters of a length in 1:13.27 while Spirit Boss was two lengths ahead of Certitude (Fr) in third. Amorita was fourth followed by Florida-bred Rosie Jeeks, Princesa Moche, Candy Bar, Antifona (Fr) and Marian Cross.
Trained by Jeff Mullins for Michele Arthurs’s Dutch Girl Holdings and Ruben Islas’s Irving Ventures—both based in San Diego—Queen Maxima paid $4.40 to win and the $1 Florida-bred exacta returned $5.
“She broke beautiful,” Hernandez said. “My plan today was to stay close to the lead or on the lead. But I saw a couple of guys sending their horses trying to get the lead, so I took her back and she came back to me really nice. She relaxed beautifully. When I crossed the dirt and was back on the turf, I asked her to pick it up and she did.”
Queen Maxima improved her career record to nine wins with two seconds and a third with earnings of $722,060. She is by Bucchero out of Corfu Lady, by Corfu.
Queen Maxima is a graduate of the 2023 Ocala Breeders’ Sales June Sale of 2-year-olds in training where bloodstock agent Michael Pender selected her for $40,000 out of the Blue River Bloodstock consignment of Sergio Centeno based in Morriston, Florida.
Return to the May 19 issue of Wire to Wire
