Returning just 15 days after shipping to Kentucky and running on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs, Queen Maxima gamely held off a late challenge from Spirited Boss to earn her sixth stakes victory in the $100,000 Mizdirection (L) Saturday at Santa Anita.
Sent off the 6-5 favorite in the 6 1/2-furlong test on the hillside turf course, Queen Maxima with Juan Hernandez aboard prevailed by three-quarters of a length over Spirited Boss, the 3-1 second choice ridden by Mike Smith. Certitude (6-1) finished another two lengths back in third. Last month at Santa Anita, Spirited Boss—trained by Jose D’Angelo and based in Florida—beat Queen Maxima at Santa Anita when winning the G3cMonrovia on the hillside course.
Queen Maxima was not originally scheduled to run in the Mizdirection. But after she finished a disappointing fourth at Churchill Downs in the G2 Unbridled Sydney—a race she won last year—trainer Jeff Mullins called an audible and entered Queen Maxima back in the Mizdirection. The decision paid off.
“She broke beautiful,” Hernandez said. “My plan today was to stay close to the lead or on the lead. But I saw a couple of guys sending their horses trying to get the lead, so I took her back and she came back to me really nice. She relaxed beautifully. When I crossed the dirt and was back on the turf, I asked her to pick it up and she did.”
As for the fast-closing Spirited Boss, Hernandez added, “I checked on the outside and didn’t see anybody, then I checked on the inside and saw that horse coming. It didn’t matter. My filly was there for me the whole time.”
Queen Maxima won in a time of 1:13.27 following fractions of :22.16, :44.70, and 1:07.21.
“Good horses do good things. She’s a good horse,” Mullins said.
A 5-year-old mare by Bucchero out of the Corfu mare Corfu Lady, Queen Maxima is owned by Dutch Girl Holdings LLC and Irving Ventures LLC. She improved to 9-2-1 from 16 career starts and more than $720,000 in earnings.
Queen Maxima, who was bred in Florida by Saul Rosas, paid $4.40 for the win.
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on May 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
