Dennis J. Federico’s MADDY’S LION (Lion Hearted) scored a front-running
victory in Monday’s $80,400 Jimmy Winkfield S. at Aqueduct.
Formerly run as the Best Turn, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday feature was
named in honor of Hall of Fame jockey Jimmy Winkfield, a leading
African-American jockey who won back-to-back runnings of the Kentucky Derby at
the turn of the 20th Century. The legendary rider died in Paris, France, in 1974
at the age of 94.
Trained by John Pregman Jr. and ridden by Pablo Fragoso, Maddy’s Lion set
fractions of :22 2/5, :46 and :58 2/5 before drawing off through the stretch to
win the six-furlong test by 6 1/4 lengths in 1:11 2/5 over a fast inner track.
Favorite More Smoke (Smoke Glacken) disputed the lead turning for home, but had
to settle for second while 4 1/2 lengths clear of Lieutenant Danz (Gold Fever).
The winner paid $8.20, $3.20 and $2.30. More Smoke, sent away at 3-2,
returned $2.60 and $2.30, while Lieutenant Danz, off at 33-1, paid $4.00. The
1-5 exacta paid $21.40 and the 1-5-2 trifecta returned $126.50.
Bred in Maryland by his owner, Maddy’s Lion is the second foal out of the
winning Private Terms mare Maddy’s Terms. The newly turned three-year-old counts
himself as a half-brother to an unnamed two-year-old colt by Crowd Pleaser and a
full-brother to an unnamed yearling. Maddy’s Lion earned
$48,240 to increase his bankroll to $109,419 and now has a record of 5-3-0-1.
After breaking his maiden in his second start at Belmont Park, Maddy’s Lion
closed out his juvenile campaign with a third-place finish in the Rollicking S.
at Pimlico.
“This is really something special,” said Winkfield’s daughter, Lillian
Winkfield Casey. “The first time we heard about the race, it was beyond words.”