Maximus Meridius makes it two straight stakes in hard-fought Tobobban S.
February 2, 2025
Maximus Meridius won his second consecutive stakes over the Aqueduct surface in Saturday’s $175,000 Toboggan S., out-finishing Runninsonofagun by a neck in the seven-furlong contest for older horses.
A 4-year-old son of Maximus Mischief, Maximus Meridius took the Gravesend S. on Dec. 28. Now represented by his third crop of racing age, Maximus Meridius already has three stakes horses in 2025, and his 17 individual winners are only one behind list leader Omaha Beach.
Breaking from the rail in the seven-furlong affair, Maximus Meridius burst out of the gate to wrest the lead from Nelson Avenue in the first sixteenth. The pacesetter carved out fractions of :22.95 and :45.90 before being confronted by Runninsonofagun at the top of the stretch. They raced side-by-side down the lane, with Maximus Meridius narrowly getting the better of his foe to stop the clock in 1:23.36 on a fast track.
“I knew he was going to fight—that’s all. Sometimes you win and sometimes you get beat, but we were lucky enough to get the bob this time,” said winning trainer and co-owner Butch Reid.
Reid’s partners are LC Racing LLC and Cash is King LLC. With the win, Maximus Meridius has earned $492,230 and is 5-4-1 in 14 starts. He was bred by Westerly Farm in Pennsylvania.