Quote:
Originally Posted by classhandicapper
IMO Maxfield has been one of those horses that was simultaneously overrated and underrated by different subsets of horseplayers.
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The only time Maxfield was ever underrated was as a 2yo based on his odds in his two starts.
Afterwards, he started higher than 2-1 odds only one time (2.10-1 to be exact) and he lost that race.
Soundness issues aside, he was suspect/exposed at 10 furlongs and in Grade 1 company at middle distances and the Clark did nothing to call that into question. Put away a 1-for-9 Grade 3 winner and an allowance-winning china doll that couldn't switch leads the entire length of the stretch despite enjoying a cush campaign of 4 starts with ~2 months in between each race.
He was probably a superior miler that would have made noise in the Met Mile and BC Dirt Mile if the industry could have been counted on to provide a balanced, full field of horses (...it could not).
Connections deserves credit for keeping him together for the entire year after making his 2nd comeback in late December. A wise move keeping him out of the BC, too, although, they did it for the wrong reasons.
