MONDAY, JULY 27, 2020 MAXIMUM SECURITY=S SOMELIKEITHOTBROWN GOES ALL THE WAY IN BERNARD BARUCH UPSET RETURN DOESN=T ANSWER Somelikeithotbrown, a sneaky-good third after setting a fast pace last out, was left alone on a much easier lead in Sunday=s MANY QUESTIONS GII Bernard Baruch S. at Saratoga and parlayed it to an upset victory, leading home a one-two finish for trainer Mike Maker. Drifting up to over twice his 4-1 morning-line quote, the bay figured to take pressure from second choice Halladay (War Front) to his outside, but instead got loose under Tyler Gaffalione and walked the dog through pedestrian fractions of :24.79 and :49.08. Halladay started to turn up the heat nearing the lane and it briefly appeared as though the frontrunner would get swallowed up, but Somelikeithotbrown re-broke outside the furlong grounds and was always doing enough to hold stablemate Mr Dumas at bay. Cont. p5 IN TDN EUROPE TODAY MAGICAL STROLLS TO SECOND GOLD CUP Maximum Security (outside) edges Midcourt | Benoit Photo WIN The Week in Review, by Bill Finley MG1SW Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) earned her second G1 Just about everyone was prepared to either love or hate the Tattersalls Gold Cup and sixth top level score at The Curragh performance of Maximum Security (New Year=s Day) in the GII on Sunday. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. San Diego H. Saturday at Del Mar. Either he would come back and dominate or he would struggle in his first performance outside of the notorious Jason Servis barn. There didn=t appear to be much room for a gray area. But that=s where things have landed. He was good enough to win but not so good that he proved beyond any doubt that he is the same horse as he was throughout last year and when winning the $20-million Saudi Cup in February. The optimist can point to a strangely run race in which Maximum Security set the early pace, was taken back by substitute jockey Abel Cedillo and dropped back to third. That=s not exactly the easiest way to win a race, but Maximum Security had a second run in him and just nipped Midcourt (Midnight Lute) by a nose. He showed a lot of determination. Plus, it was his first race in nearly five months and new trainer Bob Baffert admitted Sunday that he didn=t have Maximum Security fully cranked up. AI actually thought he was pretty good right after the race being that I only had him about 80%,@ Baffert said. AI didn=t think he=d have to do a stop-and-go movement [during the race] but he showed what a great horse he is.@ Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Monday, July 27, 2020 Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Deputy Editor Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Associate Editors Christina Bossinakis @CBossTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN News and Features Editor In Memoriam: Ben Massam (1988-2019) ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistant/Dir. Of Distribution Rachel McCaffrey Advertising Assistants Amie Newcomb Kristen Lomasson Photographer/Photo Editor Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] Social Media Strategist Justina Severni Director of Customer Service Vicki Forbes Trainer Rick Schosberg, a member of the NYTHA Board since 2011, was presented [email protected] with the “Bronzed Facial Mask”award on Saturday by NYTHA's Executive Director, Marketing Manager Will Alempijevic, in recognition of his efforts on behalf of the backstretch community Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. | Susie Rasher Director of IT/Accounting Ray Villa SPORTS BUSINESS FURLONG: ALEX RIETHMILLER 11 [email protected] [email protected] In the latest installment of this series sponsored by Runhappy, Carter Carnegie interviews NFL Media’s VP of Communications to figure out what marketing WORLDWIDE INFORMATION lessons horse racing can learn from his company. International Editor Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 15 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • JULY 27, 2020 Week in Review cont. from p1 a lot of will to win. He=s got a lot of W=s by his name and there=s Baffert added that he considered the San Diego a small step in a reason for that.@ the process. But, for Maximum Security, the goal now goes beyond AIt=s a good starting point, we learned a lot about the horse, winning. He needs to not only win the Pacific Classic but to do it now we=re caught up and he=s ready to go,@ he said impressively and show everyone that he is the one to beat in Yet, it wasn=t unreasonable to expect something better than a the GI Breeders= Cup Classic. nose victory in a Grade II race. This is the horse who was last As for the San Diego, I=ll give him a B- for a grade. That doesn=t year=s champion 3-year-old and right after the Saudi Cup was mean there=s not an A+ performance yet to come. Cont. p4 widely considered the best horse in training. The Maximum Security that won the GI Cigar Mile H., the Saudi Cup and crossed the wire first in the GI Kentucky Derby would have crushed the type of horses he faced in the San Diego. That horse, of course, was trained by Servis, and every time one of his former horses races, everyone is left to wonder if they will perform for new trainers who are not using performance- enhancing drugs. All of which is why one should neither write Maximum Security off or declare that he is back. There are just too many questions and there is plenty of time for them to be answered. Baffert mentioned the GI Woodward S. at Saratoga as a possibility for Maximum Security, but it=s much more likely that he will go next in the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 22. AHe=s got a lot of will to win, he=s courageous and a smart horse,@ Baffert said. AThere=s just something about him, he=s got Maximum Security and Midcourt | Benoit Photo TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 15 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • JULY 27, 2020 Still No News Out of Saudi Arabia It=s been 138 days since the running of the Saudi Cup and 129 days since Jason Servis was among a long list of individuals indicted for allegedly doping their horses. That should be more than enough time for Saudi racing officials to have concluded their investigation and determine whether or not Maximum Security will be disqualified and the purse redistributed. The ultimate decision may rest on whether or not any illegal medications were found in Maximum Security=s system after the race, but those tests should have been concluded months ago. What=s going on? Another week has gone by without any answers. Here=s what Director of Strategy and International Racing for the Jockey Club Of Saudi Arabia Tom Ryan told the TDN in an email last week: AWork on the Maximum Security investigation continues. At the moment it looks like we will be able to issue an official statement as a means of an update over the next week or so.@ Will Volatile and Vekoma Meet Up? The expectations for Volatile (Violence) were so high coming into the GI Alfred Vanderbilt S. Saturday at Saratoga that not everyone was raving about his victory. A lot did go his way. Rival Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) broke through the gate prior to the start, which likely compromised his chances. And Volatile was somehow allowed to set about as slow a pace as you will ever see for a Grade I sprint race. The first quarter went in 23.46 and the half was completed in 46.67 before Volatile won by 1 1/4 lengths. Volatile | Sarah Andrew But that doesn=t mean this wasn=t a test for a horse who had never even run in a graded stakes race before, no less a Grade I. His three opponents had earned a combined $6,091,100 and Volatile beat them decisively. Cont. p5 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 15 • THETDN.COM MONDAY • JULY 27, 2020 After campaigning Mitole (Eskendereya), who ran an uncharacteristically poor race last year in the Vanderbilt when third, trainer Steve Asmussen may once again have the best sprinter in the country. But there=s at least one outstanding horse standing between Volatile and an Eclipse Award and that is Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}), the winner of the GI Runhappy Carter H. and the Gi Runhappy Metropolitan H. The Aug. 29 GI Forego at Saratoga seems like a logical spot for both Vekoma and Volatile, and if both show up, that may be the race of the meet. Keeping An Eye on Kentucky=s COVID-19 Situation For now, spectators will be allowed to attend the Kentucky Derby, but one has to wonder if that is about to change. Churchill Downs made the announcement June 24 that it has received permission from Governor Andy Beshear to allow fans to attend the Derby week races during a short September meet at Churchill.