Maximus Meridius looks to defend his title in Listed $150K Toboggan

Multiple stakes-winner Maximus Meridius returns to defend his crown in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Toboggan, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The Toboggan is slated as Race 2 on Saturday’s 10-race card which also features the $135,000 Ruthless in Race 4, the re-scheduled $135,000 Ladies in Race 6 and is headlined by the Listed $200,000 Withers in Race 9, offering 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

Maximus Meridius [post 1, Mychel Sanchez, 121 pounds] will look to defend his title as he arrives from a pair of stakes wins at his Parx Racing base for trainer Butch Reid, Jr., who co-owns with LC Racing and Cash is King.

The 5-year-old Pennsylvania-bred son of the Reid, Jr.-trained Maximus Mischief returned from a freshening and utilized prominent tactics under returning rider Mychel Sanchez to capture both the 6 1/2-furlong Let’s Give Thanks over sloppy and sealed footing on November 26 and the seven-furlong Blitzen last out on December 31.

The ultra-consistent Maximus Meridius boasts a 21-8-6-1 ledger for purse earnings of $644,430, including back-to-back local Listed stakes scores in the six-furlong Gravesend in December 2024 over a sloppy and sealed track and a neck win in last year’s Toboggan in February over Runninsonofagun.

"One of the reasons we gave him some time in the fall this year was to make sure we have a nice fresh horse because I really think he handled that Aqueduct surface well,” Reid, Jr. said.

Reid, Jr. noted that Sanchez, who was the leading rider at Parx in each of the last three seasons from 2023-25, has developed a great partnership with Maximus Meridius, combining to win six times.

"It looks like Mychel Sanchez has figured him out. He has a good feel for him and they're getting along real well,” Reid, Jr. said. “You can't really let him relax because he'll settle down and wait on horses. He's got himself beat a couple of times that way. Mychel knows you have to keep him on his toes, and you have to keep him in the bit - if you do, he's a pretty formidable foe."

Maximus Meridius worked a half-mile in 48.85 seconds Friday at Parx.

“He went on his own and he was well in hand. That should set him up really nicely for this,” Reid, Jr. said.

Bred by Westerly Farm, Maximus Meridius is out of the winning Quiet American mare Quiet Virtue.

Koentopp Racing’s four-time winner Nation [post 2, Luis Rivera, Jr., 119 pounds] will make his stakes debut for conditioner Bob Hess, Jr.

The 6-year-old Constitution gelding is out of the winning Henrythenavigator mare Welcome Speech, while his third dam, Rum Charger, produced multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Winchester and dual Grade 3-winner Middleburg.

Nation, who has won 4-of-13 starts, has thrived on the dirt with a 7-3-1-2 ledger, including a pair of seven-furlong allowance wins in Kentucky for Hess, Jr., who haltered the dark bay for $20,000 in August at Del Mar.

"He's beautifully bred. The owner actually picked him out, but he's been real healthy and doing really well for us,” Hess, Jr. said.

Nation, who worked a half-mile in 48.20 on January 22 at The Thoroughbred Center in Lexington, Kentucky, was last seen finishing a close second as the favorite in a six-furlong optional-claiming sprint on December 19 at Turfway Park.

“I don't think he cared for the synthetic last time out,” Hess, Jr. said. “Ideally, he's a seven-furlong, one-turn dirt horse. He's best when he can stalk and pounce, for sure.”

Hess, Jr. won the 1993 Grade 3 Bold Ruler with Slerp at the Big A; the 2019 Grade 3 Vagrancy Handicap with Heavenhasmynikki at Belmont Park; and has hit the board in a number of stakes at Saratoga Race Course, including a third-place finish with Spring Meadow in the 2002 Grade 1 Test.

“Historically we've enjoyed running there,” said Hess, Jr., whose last local starter came when Showgirl Lynne B ran seventh in the Stewart Manor in November 2022. “We've won at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga. It's been a while since our last starter there, but we love running New York and we’re looking forward to it.”

Tranquility Lake Farms’ Victory Way [post 5, Jose Lezcano, 119 pounds] returns to stakes company for the first time since an off-the-board effort in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones in August 2023 at Parx.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 6-year-old City of Light gelding showed promise in his sophomore season by winning two of his first three outings along with a good third in the 2023 Grade 3 Bay Shore. He raced just once as a 4-year-old but enjoyed a productive return last year, posting a 7-1-1 ledger topped by a last-out optional-claiming score on December 11 here that registered a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Victory Way, bred in Kentucky by Wygod Equine, is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Sweet Way - a half-sister to multiple Grade 1-winner Sweet Catomine, who won the 2004 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies en route to Champion 2-Year-Old Filly honors; and multiple Grade 1-winner Life Is Sweet, who won the 2009 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic.

Repole Stable’s Be You [post 6, Kendrick Carmouche, 119 pounds] cuts back in distance after being elevated to victory last out in a one-turn mile optional-claimer on December 27 here for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

There, the 5-year-old Curlin gelding closed from last-of-11 and 8 3/4-lengths off the pace to make a strong stretch run where he checked off the heels of his drifting out stablemate Donegal Surges, who crossed the wire first and was subsequently disqualified for interference.

Be You’s recent victory followed a pair of strong starts in seven-furlong sprints, including an allowance win in October at Keeneland and a closing second in November here to Knightsbridge, who exited to win a pair of graded stakes, including Saturday’s Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper at Gulfstream Park.

The $320,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase is out of the graded stakes-winning Congrats mare Jacaranda, who is a half-sister to the Pletcher-trained dual Grade 1-winner and current WinStar stallion Constitution.

Rounding out a talented field are stakes-placed Over and Ollie [post 3, Flavien Prat, 119 pounds] for trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr.; and seven-time winner Light the Way [post 4, Manny Franco, 119 pounds], who races first off the $100,000 claim for trainer Mike Maker.  

Inaugurated in 1890, the Toboggan was originally known as the Toboggan Slide and contested on the Eclipse course at Morris Park. Rich in history, the Toboggan has been won by Hall of Fame thoroughbreds Roseben [1905], Billy Kelly [1919], Equipoise [1932], Eight Thirty [1940-41], Devil Diver [1943-44], Bold Ruler [1958] and Affectionately [1965].

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