Tag: Malathaat

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 […]

Jack Christopher's Grade 1 Woody Stephens victory was one of the highlights of Belmont Park's 2022 Spring/Summer Meet. One of the most lucrative meets had a rise in average daily handle and a drop in overall handle from 2021. (Image: NYRA Photo)

Mixed Messages Define Belmont Park’s Spring/Summer Handle

First, the good news for Belmont Park and its just-concluded Spring/Summer Meet. The track enjoyed a 2% increase in average daily handle over 2021. The average daily handle came in at $13,437,509 for the 44-day meet that ended Sunday. According to the New York Racing Association, the average daily handle […]

Mo Donegal (6) beat his stablemate, filly Nest, to win Saturday's Belmont Stakes and give trainer Todd Pletcher his fourth Belmont Stakes. Pletcher's horses went 1-2 in the season's final Triple Crown race. (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Pletcher Reflects on His Belmont Stakes Exacta with Mo Donegal, Nest

Todd Pletcher didn’t know what was more satisfying to him as a trainer: winning the Belmont Stakes with Mo Donegal for one of his top clients, Mike Repole, or winning the Belmont for the fourth time to tie fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. “Yesterday was why you do […]

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 […]

Nest and Irad Ortiz Jr. enjoyed an 8 1/4-length romp in Saturday's Grade 1 Ashland Oaks at Keeneland. The 3-year-old will attempt to give Todd Pletcher his second consecutive Kentucky Oaks victory and fifth overall. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Colt Mo Donegal, Filly Nest Give Pletcher 1-2 Derby/Oaks Punch

As training days go, Todd Pletcher would take a lot more weekends like this. Days where he puts out a potential Kentucky Derby winner and a potential Kentucky Oaks winner. The Hall of Fame trainer’s Derby contender? Mo Donegal, who provided Pletcher with his record-tying seventh Wood Memorial title and […]

Joel Rosario and Knicks Go rode off with a combined three Eclipse Awards at Thursday night's Eclipse Awards ceremony at Santa Anita Park. Knicks Go won Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male Eclipses, while Rosario won his first Jockey of the Year Eclipse. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Ryan Thompson)

Knicks Go Rides Off With 2021 Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year

True to his running style, Knicks Go broke out to a big lead and proved uncatchable, capturing the Eclipse Award for 2021 Horse of the Year when the Eclipse Awards were announced Thursday night at Santa Anita Park. The now-6-year-old horse received 228 votes out a possible 235 first-place votes […]

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 […]

Maracuja (left) outkicked previous unbeaten Malathaat to win last Saturday's CCA Oaks. The two are on a path to tangle again in the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Elsa Lorieul/NYRA)

After CCA Oaks Upset, We’re Ready for Maracuja vs. Malathaat 3.0

Maracuja and Malathaat put on such a show in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, that you can’t wait to see the rematch between the two 3-year-old fillies. And, it’s looking like we will at the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Trainers for […]

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 […]

With his Kentucky Derby-champion mount Medina Spirit out, John Velazquez will ride Rombauer in the June 5 Belmont Stakes. (Image: AP File Photo)

Velazquez Takes Rombauer’s Reins for the Belmont, No Midnight Bourbon

With no Medina Spirit, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will take Rombauer’s reins for the June 5 Belmont Stakes. The Daily Racing Form reported that trainer Mike McCarthy grabbed Velazquez’s services for the Belmont. He’ll take the reins from Flavien Prat, who returned to the horse he rode in […]

Malathaat, seen here gaining on her Kentucky Oaks rivals, won't do the same against the boys in the Belmont Stakes. She needs to eat extra oat buckets to gain weight for the summer campaigns. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Undefeated Malathaat Won’t Tease the Boys in the Belmont Stakes

Without a Triple Crown storyline, race fans were salivating at the prospect of filly Malathaat jumping into the Belmont Stakes pool and tangling with the boys in the final jewel of the Triple Crown. But connections for the undefeated filly said Tuesday she will pass up the Belmont. Instead, the […]

Midnight Bourbon could be one of only two horses to run all three 2021 Triple Crown races.(Image: AP Photo)

Belmont Stakes Field Remains in Flux as Connections Ponder Options

While the Belmont Stakes field remains an early work in progress, several trainers with possible sights on the final jewel of the Triple Crown have either indicated interest or put their horses through workouts with that June 5 race in mind. The Belmont Stakes field of possibles starts with Kentucky […]

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 […]

After a year's hiatus due to the pandemic, Wesley Ward returned to his native habitat: winning Keeneland training titles. With 20 victories, the conditioner won his seventh Keeneland Spring Meet title. (Image: Coady Photography)

Keeneland’s Spring Meet Hops Into the Books With Strong Handle

Despite selling limited tickets for its 15-day Spring Meet, Keeneland’s just-concluded meet brought a 7.55% handle increase from its 2019 numbers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic scrubbing Keeneland’s 2020 Spring Meet, 2019 represents the last comparable year. Headlined by Essential Quality’s Blue Grass Stakes victory, Wesley Ward’s seventh training title […]

Simply Ravishing won her first three races, including this victory in the Alcibiades. After missing the board twice, she seeks a return to that form in Saturday's Grade 1 Ashland Oaks at Keeneland. (Image: Keeneland Photo)

Ashland Oaks Grows Another Filly Rivalry: Malathaat vs. Simply Ravishing

The Grade 1 Ashland Oaks is following the path of this year’s Kentucky Oaks prep races, which involves pitting two standouts against each other in a makeshift regional rivalry. You had Travel Column and Clairiere in the Fair Grounds Oaks in Louisiana. Beautiful Gift and Moraz tangle at Santa Anita […]

Yes, Essential Quality is No. 1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Pool 4. The Tapit colt opens at 7/2 when the KDFW's Pool 4 begins Friday. (Image: Coady Photography)

No Surprise: Essential Quality Opens as 7/2 Favorite in KDFW Pool 4

Essential Quality turned his Southwest Stakes victory on Saturday into 7/2 favored status for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) Pool 4. The KDFW’s Pool 4 runs concurrently with the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager’s sole pool. Clariere opens as the 5/1 favorite for that pool. The KDFW opens Friday at […]

Kendrick Carmouche still hasn't come down from his first Grade 1 win, piloting True Timber to the Cigar Mile winner's circle last Saturday. Carmouche won his first NYRA riding title during Aqueduct's fall meet. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Carmouche Breaks Into Big Time with First NYRA Riding Crown

Between 2008 and 2011, Kendrick Carmouche won seven riding titles at Parx, outside Philadelphia, staking his claim as that track’s dominant jockey and earning a spot in its Hall of Fame. But that was at Parx; a nice track, but a track out in the riding provinces. Now, Carmouche is […]