Pender Purple Patch Looks Set To Continue

[Wandering Eyes]

If bloodstock agent Mike Pender feels the urge to pinch himself from time to time, it would be hard to hold that against him.

Having trained the likes of Grade I winners Jeranimo and Ultimate Eagle for his late client B. J. Wright in a career that lasted 15 years, Pender is now very much focused on the bloodstock side of the game, and his two current success stories–the three-time graded-stakes winning turf sprinter Queen Maxima (Bucchero) and Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Intrepido (Maximus Mischief)–are doing their part to keep the humble horseman's name in lights. Both horses are campaigned by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures.

A $40,000 OBS June purchase, the Florida-bred Queen Maxima recently made the Jan. 11 GIII Las Cienegas Stakes her seventh straight success against her peers in turf sprint contests. She has since turned in a pair of easy, maintenance-type works at Santa Anita just to keep her ticking over as connections mull over their choices for the star mare, who is effective no matter the shape of the race.

“She is as hearty and made of hickory as any horse you'll ever put a saddle on,” Pender said Wednesday from Kentucky, where he was checking in on some of his other horses. “If anyone takes the time to watch her eight wins, the way in which she wins is chilling. It's chilling. I mean, it's goosebumps.

“She wins wrapped up. How many times can [jockey] Juan Hernandez return to the winner circle saying the same thing?: 'We still haven't gotten to the bottom of her.' I think that's the definition of a champion. Juan just says she's so versatile and he can put her wherever he wants. If he needs speed in a paceless race, she's there for him. If it's full of speed, he can just sit back and guide her.”

And to the point of getting to the bottom of Queen Maxima or what her ceiling might be, Pender said the goals will be loftier in 2026.

“The Jaipur against the boys [at Saratoga in June] is definitely on the radar. That would be nice to add to the resume,” Pender said, adding that the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland is longer-term objective.

So talented is Queen Maxima that Pender suggested a switch to the dirt or a stretchout in distance could not be ruled out as the year goes on. The 5-year-old has finished off the board in two tries at a mile on the turf, each time with a bit of an excuse.

Queen Maxima | Benoit

Intrepido, ultra-game in winning last year's GI American Pharoah Stakes, makes his sophomore debut in Saturday's GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes, facing–among others–Desert Gate (Omaha Beach), who he defeated at odds of nearly 9-1 in the American Pharoah. Ironically, Pender saddled Lombo (Graydar) to an 8-1 upset in the 2018 Lewis.

Just a $30,000 Keeneland September yearling, Intrepido was sold on for $385,000 at last year's OBS April Sale and became a 'Rising Star' when racing over a mile for the first time at Del Mar last August. A late surge following a tough trip in the American Pharoah saw him prevail by 3/4 of a length, but he stubbed his toe in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, finishing a non-threatening fifth behind 'Rising Star' and champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief).

Whatever Intrepido does on Saturday, he is sure to come on for the effort, Pender believes.

“We feel he's ready to go a mile on Saturday,” he said. “Is [trainer] Jeff [Mullins], the consummate horseman, going to tighten those screws and put him over the top for this race? No way. But he's definitely ready.”

Intrepido reunites in the Lewis with Hector Berrios, who will also climb back aboard champion Super Corredora (Gun Runner) in Sunday's Listed Las Virgenes Stakes at the Great RIP.

Now going on seven years since saddling his last runner, Pender is very much enjoying applying his skill set toward picking out what he hopes to be top-class runners on behalf of others, including the two stars for Dutch Girl and Irving Ventures.

“I guess in football terms, I'm effectively their team manager,” he says. “They admit that they're very new to this process. While I didn't build this stadium nor front of money for the players in their payrolls, I do have to buy their horses, and I have to buy their horses that stay sound and most of all win races in what is arguably the most competitive environment for babies on the planet, Southern California, it's a tough playing field out here.

“[The owners] have just been unbelievable,” he added. “I mean, they put their money up, they wash their hands, and then turn it over to Jeff and I. It's tough. It's tough. We don't have a gigantic budget. There's a diminishing foall crop out there that makes for greater demand, and thus the higher purchase prices at these sales. They have been there with open arms every time. Without them, none of this is happening.”

Pender reflects back on the Saturday finale at Del Mar on Aug. 10, 2024, when Queen Maxima weaved her way through and powered home to graduate on debut. His hunch at that moment that he just might have unearthed something special has since been proven true.

“The people that were sitting next to me in the box, they go, 'We've never seen such a visceral reaction from you. There's tears streaming down your face.' I was like, 'This filly could be any kind,” he related.

“I'm really enjoying this aspect of being their agent as well, because it gives me more time to work with them, to educate them, to work on the human aspect of the day-to-day machinations of running a barn and all that goes on with it. This is a new way to branch off into something that was largely forgotten about when I was a trainer.”

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