Walsh to Take It 'One Race at a Time' With Maxfield

Trainer Brendan Walsh reported May 24 that Matt Winn Stakes (G3) winner Maxfield exited Saturday's race in good shape and his team will begin planning for the next start.

"I have just been thinking all along to go one race at a time with this colt," Walsh said. "We'll talk it over with the Godolphin team and plan for our next target whatever that may be."

Maxfield is 3-for-3 with Saturday's one-length victory at Churchill Downs. Under jockey Jose Ortiz, Maxfield closed strongly down the center of the track to overtake Ny Traffic in the closing stages of the 1 1/16-mile race. He garnered 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby to move into ninth on the leaderboard with a total of 60 points.

"The most impressive thing about this horse is how he handles everything so well mentally," Walsh said. "He's such a cool horse, and nothing really bothers him. Along with his athletic ability, his mental state is a really strong 1-2 punch."

The next race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule is the June 6 Santa Anita Derby (G1), which awards points to the first four finishers on a 100-40-20-10 scale. The newly released Belmont Park stakes schedule has the Belmont Stakes (G1) slated as June 20. The adjusted 1 1/8-mile event will award the first four finishers 150-60-30-15 points, respectively. 

Following the Matt Winn, Walsh said he will monitor how Maxfield bounces back from the race before deciding whether the Street Sense  colt will head to New York for the Belmont Stakes or go another direction.