Silver Max makes waves in Oceanport

Mark Bacon and Diana Wells' Silver Max returned to the turf to capture his

fourth graded victory in style by crossing the wire 5 3/4 lengths ahead of his

next closest rival in Sunday's Grade 3, $170,000

Oceanport Stakes at Monmouth Park. The 4-1 third choice returned $10.80,

$5.60 and $4 to his backers while picking up $90,000 to push him over the

million dollar mark and leave him with $1,058,403 in lifetime earnings from a

20-9-5-1 career line.

The Dale Romans charge broke alertly, setting quick fractions of :23 4/5, :47

and 1:09 4/5 as he wired the field with ease. Silver Max only had a half-length

lead through six-furlongs as last year's winner of this race, Tune Me In, tried to

keep pace but ultimately faded to finish seventh.

"He's just a super quick horse that's capable of laying down some speedy

fractions," Romans said. "He just keeps going and going. I only have one other

horse in my barn that can match his easy, fluid stride -- and that's Little

Mike."

Despite the swift fractions, Silver Max shook free from his competition

around the far turn to widen his lead in the stretch, and by then it was a race

for second. The four-year-old colt stopped the clock in 1:40 for the 1 1/16-mile

test over the firm turf with Robby Albarado in the saddle.

Silver Max needed six starts before breaking his maiden on

Gulfstream Park's turf in January 2012 and after a well-beaten fifth in the Holy Bull

on dirt, he switched back to turf with a gusto. His proceeded to set a six-race

win streak beginning with a 3 3/4-length romp over allowance/optional claiming rivals at

Gulfstream and he followed with a convincing 5 1/2-length triumph in Keeneland's Transylvania Stakes.

Next came a 2 3/4-length, tour-de-force performance in the American Turf at

Churchill Downs. Silver Max continued to humble the competition with a facile

two-length win in the Arlington Classic and he won the Virginia Derby last July

off a 6 3/4-length, track record-setting performance in the Oliver

Stakes, completing a mile over Indiana Downs' turf in 1:33.88.

Silver Max's six-race win streak would come to an end when he made his first

Grade 1 start in the Secretariat at Arlington Park on August 18, as he gave way in

the stretch to finish fifth. The son of Badge of Silver would close out his three-year-old campaign with

a disappointing ninth in the Shadewell Turf Mile at Keeneland in October.

He

failed to regain his form when he made his 2013 debut in the Appleton at

Gulfstream Park in March, finishing fifth, and then was fourth to Horse of the

Year Wise Dan in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill in May. The bay showed promise when running away with the Opening Verse Stakes by 9

1/2 lengths over a sloppy Churchill Downs track in a race that was taken off the

turf two starts back on June 1. He was exiting a third-place finish in the

Cornhusker Handicap over a fast Prairie Meadows track at the end of last month.