Englishman Surges to Head of Maxfield's First Crop

With all due respect to Golden Tempo, who secured his place at the head of the classic division by adding the Belmont Stakes (G1) to his Kentucky Derby (G1) victory, there is little doubt, from this perspective, that the most impressive display by a 3-year-old at Saratoga Race Course on Belmont Stakes day was that of Englishman in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1). Pressing early fractions of :21.98 and :43.97, Englishman was 5 lengths clear as the field turned for home and, after passing three-quarters in 1:07.56, he hit the wire 5 3/4 lengths clear, covering the 7 furlongs in 1:20.40, equaling the track record established by Darby Creek Road in 1978. That effort earned Englishman a Beyer Speed Figure of 115, not only the fastest by a 3-year-old this term, but the fastest by any horse in 2026 thus far. Englishman has been something of a hype horse since his debut, which saw him win a 7-furlong maiden special weight race Sept. 19 at Churchill Downs by 7 1/4 lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 97. He opened his 3-year-old campaign with a similarly impressive performance, taking a 6-furlong allowance optional claimer at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in March by 7 1/2 lengths, stopping the clock in 1:08.76. Making his stakes debut in the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) on Kentucky Derby Day, Englishman set swift fractions and looked to have shaken clear turning for home, but was caught inside the final furlong by Crude Velocity, who was his nearest pursuer in the Woody Stephens Stakes. Englishman is a member of the first crop sired by Maxfield, a son of the 2007 Kentucky Derby hero Street Sense. Winner of his only two starts at 2, the second of which came in the 2019 Breeders' Futurity (G1), Maxfield captured the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) on his debut at 3, but was then absent for seven months before returning to add the Tenacious Stakes in December 2020 at Fair Grounds. He extended his undefeated sequence to five in the 2021 Mineshaft Stakes (G3), but then suffered his first defeat when third to Idol in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), his only attempt at a mile and a quarter. A decisive winner of the Alysheba Stakes (G2) and Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) in his next two starts, Maxfield then ran second in a pair of grade 1 contests, the Whitney Stakes (G1) and Woodward Stakes (G1), before securing a top-level victory in his final outing, beating Happy Saver by a half-length in the Clark Stakes (G1). Prior to Saturday, Maxfield had been represented by three other black-type winners: Max Ciao, winner of the 2025 I'm Smokin Stakes at Del Mar; Ivy Girl, who captured the Main Line Stakes and Weber City Miss Stakes this spring; and Holly's Holiday, who took the Valley of the Vapors Stakes. Maxfield has also been represented by 11 other black-type-placed horses, and there are two other notable runners who have yet to achieve that standard: Danon Bourbon and Mashallah. The Japanese-trained Danon Bourbon earned his way to the Kentucky Derby with a victory in the Fukuryu Stakes (which is not a black-type contest, despite being the final Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby event). In the Kentucky Derby, he performed best of the early pace factors, leading into the stretch and eventually finishing fifth, beaten just 3 lengths, despite emerging from the race with a bone chip. Clearly a top-class horse, he is slated to return in 2027. Maxfield's other notable runner is the filly Mashallah, who ran a 106 Beyer—the highest by a 3-year-old filly in 2026—to win a 6-furlong maiden special weight in April at Keeneland on her debut, but who appeared not to stay when only fifth as the favorite in a 1-mile allowance optional claiming event at Churchill Downs on her return. Englishman is the fourth foal and fourth winner for his dam In It for the Gold. A daughter of Speightstown, In It for the Gold won a 6-furlong maiden special weight on turf at Aqueduct Racetrack in the last of her seven starts, having placed third in five of her previous six outings. All Due Respect, the dam of In It for the Gold, was by far the best daughter of the very disappointing Unbridled's Song sire Value Plus. Her only black-type victory came in the 2011 Ocala Stakes at Gulfstream Park, but she also placed in 12 other such events, including when second—beaten just a neck by Crisp—in the 2010 Santa Anita Oaks (G1), with that year's champion 3-year-old filly Blind Luck in third. Englishman's third dam, Aunt Due (by Devil His Due), is a full sister to the 2002 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) runner-up Ten Cents a Shine, both out of the minor stakes-placed mare Aunt Mottz. The family traces back to In It for the Gold's sixth dam, the 1955 Canadian Oaks winner Miss Ardan, a daughter of the imported 1944 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Ardan. Her classic victory notwithstanding, Miss Ardan was not actually the best runner out of her dam Impulsive. That honor goes to Clem, a top-class performer on dirt and turf who, in September 1958, captured the Washington Park Handicap, United Nations Handicap, and Woodward Stakes, defeating that year's eventual Horse of the Year, champion older horse, and champion turf horse Round Table on all three occasions. Englishman is one of only two stakes winners by Street Sense and his sons out of mares by Gone West and his sons and grandsons. More important in his case might be the accumulation within his maternal line. As noted in this column before, the direct maternal line is particularly important as it is the source of the mitochondria. Commonly known as the powerhouses of the cell and vital in the production of aerobic energy, mitochondria exist outside the nucleus and are inherited exclusively through the tail-female line. Optimal mitochondrial function, however, depends on the interaction between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and the more high-class individuals in the pedigree from the same mitochondrial haplogroup as the subject horse, the more likely optimal nuclear DNA-mtDNA interaction will occur. When we consider Englishman, we can note that he is from the N2a mitochondrial haplotype. Value Plus, the sire of his second dam All Due Respect, is also from the N2a mtDNA line, as is Value Plus' grandsire Unbridled. On the sire's side, Maxfield is also from the N2a family, and Maxfield's grandsire Street Cry is out of the 1985 Irish Oaks (G1) winner Helen Street, who also descends from the N2a family, as does her sire Troy.