NZ HARNESS NEWS
After one of the great comeback stories, top drawer pacer Maxim has been retired.
His trainer Brent Mangos, in consultation with former trainer and part-owner, Barry Purdon, pulled the pin on his career after he pulled up sore following Sunday’s Auckland Cup.
“We had him checked out on Wednesday and it’s not good, so he’s retired,” said Mangos.
“We could do a patch up job on him, but he’s done such a good job for his owners that I think it’s not the right thing to do by the horse.
“I spoke to Barry and he definitely was of the same opinion.
“I think it’s time to give the horse a good break and a well-earned retirement.”
Maxim looked like he could be anything as a young horse, winning the Gr. 1 Sires Stakes Series Final at Addington as a two-year-old before running second to stablemate Sky Major in the Ashburton Harness Jewels a fortnight later.
At three Purdon took him to Melbourne, where he won the Victoria Derby, then brought him home for a close-up third behind Tiger Tara and Locharburn in the Northern Derby.
But he was to break down soon after and would not be seen at the races again for nearly three years.
He fought back from back-to-back tendon injuries to return to the races a year ago, now trained by Mangos due to his access to a swimming pool.
He won seven races in the past 12 months, including two on a short winter trip to Victoria.
He ran third in the Easter Cup and even won the Wanganui Cup on the grass, but perhaps his best performance came in the $800,000 New Zealand Cup just two months ago.
There he flew home for an unlucky fourth behind Lazarus, almost certainly robbed of a second placing after being held-up at the wrong time.
Maxim, a son of Bettor’s Delight from the famed Scuse Me family that also includes Adore Me, Dream About Me and Christen Me, retires the winner of 12 races and over half-a-million dollars.
- NZ Harness News
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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