Tag: Clairiere

Clairiere (left) finally outdueled Malathaat in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps last month. It was the first time Clairiere beat her rival in five starts. The two duel again in Sunday's Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Chelsea Durand/NYRA.com)

It’s Malathaat vs. Clairiere Part the Sixth at the Shuvee Stakes

Clairiere and Malathaat share the same sire (Curlin) and the same breeder (Stonestreet Stables), so it’s only natural the two 4-year-old fillies share the same stage for the sixth time in Sunday’s Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes at Saratoga. As rivalries go, this one took a while. But these two ride […]

You'll see Malathaat (outside) run twice during Saratoga's 2022 season. Last year's Champion 3-Year-Old is likely to be favored in both the Grade 2 Shuvee and Grade 1 Personal Ensign. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)

Champion Malathaat Ready for Two Saratoga Stakes Close-Ups

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 […]

Champion 3-Year-Old Malathaat won her lone 2022 race: the Grade 3 Doubledogdare at Keeneland in April. She is the 5/2 second choice for Saturday's Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. (Image: Mathea Kelly)

This Year’s Ogden Phipps Resembles a Filly and Mare All-Star Race

Forgive yourself if you look at Saturday’s Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park thinking you’re looking at a sneak preview of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff five months early. There’s defending Ogden Phipps champion Letruska, who made last year’s race look like a glorified workout. Her 2 3/4-length gate-to-wire victory […]

Letruska won her second consecutive Grade 1 Apple Blossom, making her only the fourth filly/mare to win the race multiple times. (Image: Coady Photography)

Letruska Emerges from Apple Blossom No. 2 in Familiar Territory

This Letruska script is one we’ve seen before. After all, it bears a striking resemblance to the 2021 script for the powerful, now 6-year-old mare. Win Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park. Head to Kentucky to train for the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. Leave no mistake who […]

Plainsman captured the Razorback Handicap by a neck in his last outing: the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap. He's the 5/2 second favorite in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Handicap, the final race in this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Coady Photography)

Oaklawn Provides Strong Stakes Bookends for Cross Country Pick 5

A deeply talented Grade 1 for fillies and mares and a contentious Grade 3 for older males bookend this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 wager. The all-stakes Cross Country Pick 5 features races from Oaklawn Park – the site of the aforementioned Grade 1 Apple Blossom […]

Azeri winner Ce Ce is the 2/1 second favorite in search of her second Apple Blossom Handicap in three years. (Image: Coady Photography)

Apple Blossom Blooms With Two Champions, Four Grade 1 Winners

There are only five horses in Saturday’s Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, a statistic that trainer Rob Atras puts into perspective for everyone. “It’s a small field, but it’s got like a Breeders’ Cup kind of feel to it,” Atras told Oaklawn Park’s Jennifer Hoyt. That’s probably the […]

Clairiere returned for the first time since her fourth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff in November with an easy allowance win at Fair Grounds. (Image: Hodges Photography)

Eclipse Finalist Clairiere Returns with a 6 1/2-length Flourish

Clairiere’s 4-year-old debut at Fair Grounds on Wednesday came in an allowance optional claimer. From a class standpoint, it wasn’t the typical race you’d see a multiple graded stakes winner run. But the chance to ride an Eclipse Award finalist brought Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario to the Louisiana track. […]

Obligatory and Jose Ortiz captured the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes on the Kentucky Oaks undercard in April. The unpredictable 3-year-old is the 5/2 morning-line favorite to win the Grade 3 Chilukki Stakes at Churchill Downs. (Image: Jamie Newell/TwinSpires)

Which Obligatory Will We See in the Grade 3 Chilukki Stakes?

The question surrounding Obligatory, the 5/2 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Grade 3 Chilukki at Churchill Downs, is an obligatory one, given the filly’s 2021 season. Will we see the Obligatory who won her last race at Churchill Downs, the Grade 2 Eight Belles on April 30 at 16/1? Or will […]

Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat had her five-race win streak snapped by Maracuja in last month's CCA Oaks. She seeks payback in Saturday's Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

M & M Girls Malathaat and Maracuja Take Center Stage in the Alabama

There are would-be party crashers to Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. There’s Crazy Beautiful. There’s Clairiere. Solid 3-year-olds with solid, proven resumes. However, the two “C” fillies find themselves relegated to that party-crasher role. That’s courtesy of the two “M” fillies – Malathaat and Maracuja – who hold […]

Malathaat's unbeaten record and versatile running style makes her an odds-on favorite to win the Grade 1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga. (Image: Jamie Newell/TwinSpires.com)

Where Did Everyone Go? Malathaat Scares Off Would-Be CCA Oaks Rivals

If you remember back in May, the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks is the race that Todd Pletcher put on Malathaat’s calendar. This was the race Pletcher and owner of the undefeated 3-year-old circled – as they were crossing off any Belmont Stakes plans. Now, because of Malathaat’s considerable […]

Undefeated Malathaat and John Velazquez go for their fifth consecutive victory as the 5/2 favorite in Friday's Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. (Image: Keeneland Photo)

Unbeaten Malathaat Takes Favorite Status in Kentucky Oaks

Malathaat and her undefeated record earned 5/2 morning-line favorite status for Friday’s 147th Kentucky Oaks at Monday morning’s post-position draw and morning-line announcement. The 1 1/8-mile Oaks anchors Churchill Downs’ 13-race, six-stakes Friday card. The 14-filly field of 3-year-olds runs for a $767,250 first-prize check out of the $1.25 million […]

Clairiere (1) and Joe Talamo ran down Travel Column and Florent Geroux to win last month's Rachel Alexandra Stakes. The two top 3-year-olds tangle for the third consecutive race Saturday in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. (Image: Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography)

It’s Clairiere and Travel Column 3.0 in Fair Grounds Oaks

Clairiere and Travel Column. Travel Column and Clairiere. The two 3-year-old fillies are becoming linked in many ways as they prepare for Saturday’s Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. The two staked their grounds as the top 3-year-olds this spring, seizing attention from last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old, Vequist, along with contenders […]