Of all the star horses expected to run at the 2022 Saratoga meet, Todd Pletcher said you’ll see his standout filly Malathaat twice at the Spa.
The Hall of Fame trainer said his 4-year-old filly will run the Grade 2 Shuvee on July 24. That will tune up the Champion 3-Year-Old for the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Travers Stakes Day, Aug. 27.
Both of those outings are 1 1/8- mile races.
“We wanted to keep her home and get two races at Saratoga with her,†Pletcher told the New York Racing Association. “The Shuvee first and the Personal Ensign is the current plan.â€
Malathaat ran twice at the Spa last year. She suffered her first career loss as the 1/5 favorite when 14/1 Maracuja upset her in the Grade 1 American Oaks last July. That snapped a five-race, career-opening winning streak that included the Grade 1 Ashland Oaks and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
Malathaat needed a month to avenge that first loss
Malathaat flipped the tables a month later at the 1 ¼-mile Grade 1 Alabama Stakes. She beat Clairiere by 1 ½ lengths as the 1/2 favorite. Maracuja was last by 13 lengths in the seven-filly field.
From there, Malathaat wrapped up her Eclipse Award-winning season with a third in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She opened her 4-year-old season winning the Grade 3 Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland in early April.
That was Malathaat’s seventh victory in nine races. It came in Malathaat’s typical fashion: close and at odds-on. Malathaat was the 3/10 favorite and she barely held off Bonny South by three-quarters of a length.
Consistency sets her apart
In here last outing, Malathaat couldn’t start a new multirace winning streak. Clairiere finally got her at last month’s Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on the Belmont Stakes undercard, beating Malathaat by a head. Along the way, they both beat 7/10 favorite and reigning Champion Older Dirt Female, Letruska. She finished last of five by nearly 36 lengths.
Malathaat may not win her races by daylight, and she doesn’t provide value when she does win them. But, she’s one of the most consistent Thoroughbreds at Saratoga this summer. Wagering on Malathaat inevitably pays off for her connections, Shadwell Stables. The filly is 10-for-10 hitting the board (7-2-1). She will take more than her share of money when she runs in both the Shuvee and Personal Ensign.
