Silver Max runs to his pedigree

Silver Max winning the Transylvania-G3 at Keeneland
Photo:  Coady Photography, Courtesy of Keeneland

Silver Max burst out of the gate in the Grade III grassy Transylvania yesterday, and never looked back until he cleared the finish line.  His six rivals seemed content to let the three-year-old Badge of Silver colt gallop loose on the lead in the early part of the mile-and-a-sixteenth contest, apparently believing either that they would catch him on the turn or that he’d falter in the stretch. 

By the time they figured out that Silver Max wouldn’t easily relinquish his advantage, there wasn’t enough time to reach him.  He won by five and a half lengths in 1:41.80 and earned $60,000 for the effort, capturing his first stakes race and the first added-money event of the Keeneland spring meet on a beautiful opening day.

Silver Max could have been claimed for $50,000 in his career debut: a five-and-a-half furlong maiden race on Saratoga’s main track last July, when he was piloted by Robby Albarado, the jockey who rode him to victory yesterday.  He finished second that day, as he did in his next four attempts in maiden special weight company at varying distances on the grass, finally breaking his maiden in a one-mile maiden special weight race over firm turf at Gulfstream Park in January. 

Two weeks later, Silver Max ambitiously encountered some of the best colts of his crop in the Grade III Holy Bull, where he finished a tiring fifth over a sloppy mile to Bernardini’s Algorithms, who decisively defeated last year’s Two-Year-Old Champion, Hansen. 

Trainer Dale Romans wisely regrouped and ran Silver Max back to his strength six weeks later in a grassy allowance/optional claimer at the Transylvania distance, and he ran as he did yesterday, winning in wire-to-wire style by three widening lengths at Gulfstream.  The bay colt has now won or placed in eight of his nine starts, and bankrolled $169,475.

That’s a nice return on the $20,000 that Dale Romans paid for him at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton July sale.  Silver Max is the fifth foal and third winner from the winning Kissin Kris mare, Kissin Rene, a half-sister to graded stakes-winning Prince of the Mt. and to the dams of Canadian Champion Kiss a Native and Grade I stakes winner and sire Yes It’s True.  Kissin Rene has also produced the stakes-winning filly, True Kiss, by Yes It’s True’s sire, Is It True. 

Silver Max’s female family had been a relatively quiet one until his third dam, the Colorado-bred Party Date (by the obscure Speedy Frank) was bred to Prince of Ascot, and then it exploded.  The resulting foal was Silver Max’s second dam, Monique Rene, a tough Louisiana-bred stakes-winning sprint specialist who notched 29 races in 45 starts while earning $456,250.  Her descendants appear to have inherited her speed, and perhaps, her distance limitations.

With his victory in the Transylvania, Silver Max became the second North American graded stakes winner for his sire, the fourth-crop Silver Deputy stallion Badge of Silver, a fast, versatile performer who was effective in elite company on both dirt and turf at middle distances up to nine furlongs, capturing the Grade II New Orleans (dirt) and San Gabriel (turf) Handicaps in the colors of Ken and Sarah Ramsey.  At four, and again at six, he placed in the Cigar Mile-G1, and in his penultimate start, he was third to Turf Champion Miesque’s Approval in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Mile.    He stands at Airdrie for a published fee of $6,000.

Like Badge of Silver’s son, Fly Lexis Fly, a two-time Grade I winner in Peru who is currently being pointed to the Belmont, Silver Max is inbred to Classic Chef-de-Race Roberto, 4 x 4.  Badge of Silver’s dam, Silveroo, is a daughter of Roberto’s son, Silver Hawk, while Silver Max’s broodmare sire, Kissin Kris, is also by Roberto. 

True Nicks rates the match that produced Silver Max as an A++, and indeed, there is precedent for the cross.  Among the other stakes winners that have been bred on a similar pattern are the stakes-winning fillies Beso Grande (by Mass Media) and Devonspaintedlady (by Devon Deputy), both out of Kissin Kris mares.  When bred to daughters or granddaughters of Roberto, Deputy Minister’s son, Touch Gold, has sired stakes winners Sharp Susan (out of Winter’s Gone, by Dynaformer), Flaming Heart (out of Hot Lear, by Lear Fan), and Adobe Gold (out of Urus, by Kris S.).