By Dick Jerardi
John Servis was up in Charles Town, West Virginia, late Saturday afternoon between the church service and the burial site for his wife Sherry’s mother when Irish Maxima came out of the starting gate at Aqueduct in the Grade II $200,000 Ruffian.
So, given the overflow crowd at the tiny church atop the mountain and the closure it gave Sherry and her family, there was simply no way they were going to leave the church, and Irish Maxima was not going to win.
“That was my mother-in-law’s doing,” Servis said Sunday morning.
And the trainer’s and the jockey’s and, of course, the brilliant 5-year-old mare who was winning her fifth stake and for the 11th time in 16 main track starts.
Ten of her wins have been gate to wire. This was an absolute tour de force. Irish Maxima came out of the gate flying in the one-turn mile (22.74, 45.02, 1:09.22, 1:22.33). She led by as much as 6 lengths (seemed like more) according to the chart. She slowed down the last eighth (14.18 seconds), but, by then, the damage was done.
“I was a little afraid she was a little too sharp because she was on razor blades going into that race,” Servis said. “But the way it turned out, I’m glad she was. Usually, she’ll get a length in front and those ears will go straight up and she’ll relax. With that field yesterday, the way it turned out, she was so sharp she just drug (jockey) Frankie (Pennington). I think it really ran those horses off their feet. The only horse that was really running at all at the end was the horse that was trailing the field early.” That was Cassiar who closed for second, 1 length behind Irish Maxima.
Irish Maxima ran the mile in 1:36.51. She has now earned $756,318 for Irish Three Racing LLC, making her the fifth highest earner Servis has ever had. Only Grade I winners and millionaires Smarty Jones, Jaywalk, Jostle and Cathryn Sophia have won more for the trainer who was winning the 35th graded stakes of his career that now includes 2,112 winners and $75 million in purse earnings.
“I wasn’t wanting to go that quick,” Pennington told Maggie Wolfendale on the FS2 show. “So as soon as I broke, I tried grabbing her right away and, as soon as I grabbed her, she was like ‘I’m the boss here’ and took off with me. Then, I was just waiting for the last part because I know the stretch is so long.”
After some post bid haggling, Servis bought Irish Maxima for $50,000 at the May 2023 Timonium sale. She is now the second leading earner for the stallion Maximus Mischief, a star 2-year-old at Parx in 2018. Only Malibu, Godolphin Mile and Met Mile winner Raging Torrent has earned more as a Maximus Mischief offspring.
After the race Servis got a thank you text from Mark Toothaker, the sales manager at Spendthrift Farm where Maximus Mischief stands at stud. Irish Maxima is not only a serious race horse, but her value as a broodmare is increasing every time she runs. Her dam, Canadian bred Palace Pier, has offspring that have won 46 races and nearly $2 million.
Servis knew what he had in Irish Maxima very early in her career which is why he sent her to the Frizette at Aqueduct in just her third start. She led, but tired badly and was beaten by 15 1/4 lengths.
“I think more than anything I got a little too high too early,” Servis said. “I think she just wasn’t mentally prepared for it. The track was sloppy and, at the time, she was a little speed crazy coming out of the sale.”
The trainer gave her a break not long after that and she came back running, winning the Weather Vane at Laurel Park and the Mrs. Claus at Parx in 2024. Last year, she won the Barbara Fritchie at Laurel and the Grade III Distaff at Aqueduct. By summer, she was starting to show some wear and tear so she got another long break and she came back running again. The Ruffian was her third straight win.
“She’s run three races pretty close,” Servis said. “I usually like spacing her races a little more…Might back off her a touch and look for something a couple of months from now.”
Servis has always thought the best year for a horse as far as “peak performance” is the 5-year-old season. Irish Maxima is showing that to be true. The mare has been good from the start, and she just keeps getting better.
