Breeders' Cup Distaff: Asmussen has pair with questions and possibilities
Prep season for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff ends Sunday when Nest and Malathaat – one-two favorites on the Daily Racing Form preliminary line – run in their final prep races.
Nest goes in the Grade 2 Beldame at Aqueduct; Malathaat in the Spinster at Keeneland. Todd Pletcher trains the Grade 1 winners listed at 5-2 and 3-1, respectively, by DRF.
Meanwhile, although prep season has ended for Distaff contenders Clairiere and Society, uncertainty lingers. Clairiere comes off the worst finish of her career, and lightly raced 3-year-old Society has never faced older.
If trainer Steve Asmussen was concerned about their Distaff suitability, neither Grade 1 winner would have already shipped to Keeneland to prepare for the Distaff on Nov. 5. Four weeks out, Asmussen is confident 4-year-old Clairiere will return to form and that Society is fast enough to compete with seasoned fillies and mares.
It turns out that Clairiere had an alibi for finishing last in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga – a false start that resulted in a tongue laceration. Clairiere finished fifth to 1-2-3 finishers Malathaat, Search Results, and Letruska, who she will face again in the Distaff.
“She false-broke in the gate, came back and had a cut tongue,” Asmussen said. “How much did it bother her? I don’t know. It seemed very odd, to say the least. It healed up really well.”
Clairiere, who defeated Malathaat this year in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps and Grade 2 Shuvee, resumed training soon afterward and on Sunday posted her first work over the track on which the Distaff will be run.
“She looks great on the racetrack. I loved how she looked in her first breeze at Keeneland,” Asmussen said.
Joel Rosario will ride Clairiere in the Distaff as she tries to improve on her fourth-place finish in the 2021 Distaff at Del Mar. Clairiere, by Curlin, has won six races and $1.9 million from 15 starts for owner-breeder Stonestreet Stables.
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As for Society, she is one of the most exciting runners targeting the Distaff for the simple reason she is one of the fastest. Sired by Gun Runner, Society scored back-to-back romps in the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks and Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx Racing. She earned 100 Beyers in both. Asmussen acknowledged the significance of highly rated repeat performances.
“Sometimes it’s that simple,” he said. “It’s a race. If you get from the gate to the wire faster than them, you usually win.”
Society is the only Distaff probable with triple-digit Beyers in her last two starts. Malathaat (105 last out) and Letruska (101) run Sunday in the Spinster.
The lopsided Cotillion win by Society carries extra significance considering the success of previous Distaff starters Asmussen prepped in the Cotillion.
“Looking back, they’ve [almost] all elevated their numbers from the Cotillion to the Distaff. If that’s possible for Society, that’s crazy,” he said.
Cotillion win to Distaff starters trained by Asmussen include My Miss Aurelia, 96 Beyer to 106 to finish second; Untapable, 94 to a 103 victory; and Clairiere, 93 to 102, finishing fourth. Midnight Bisou was the anomaly. She regressed seven points, from 101 to 94, third.
Society, who will be ridden by Cotillion rider Florent Geroux, is scheduled to breeze at Keeneland this weekend. Owned and bred by Peter Blum, Society has won five races and $1.1 million from six starts.
Clairiere is listed 6-1 by DRF; Society 8-1. Those prices may drop, particularly Society, pending the Spinster and Beldame. Malathaat is likely to start favored over Letruska and Played Hard in the Spinster. Nest is the early favorite over First to Act in the Beldame.
Distaff contenders training into the race include Grade 1 winners Search Results, Secret Oath, and Blue Stripe.
◗ Shedaresthedevil is a conspicuous exclusion from the top-10 Distaff list, but trainer Brad Cox still hopes to make the race. A multiple Grade 1 winner, including the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, Shedaresthedevil worked only twice since finishing third in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar in early August.
“She was a little body-sore out of California, but nothing to take her out of training,” Cox said. “She’s in training, but we’re going to miss the Spinster. I’m going to attempt to get her in a workout pattern. We’ll just kind of monitor her and see how things go.”
Shedaresthedevil has won 10 races and $2.7 million from 21 starts.
◗ La Validad, the Argentina filly who won a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race at Hipodromo de Palermo in May, will not run in the Distaff, according to BC officials.
◗ Desert Dawn, the California-based 3-year-old filly who finished third in the Kentucky Oaks, remains in training but is not under consideration for the Distaff.
◗ Midnight Memories won the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes last weekend at Santa Anita, but her 88 Beyer makes her an unlikely Distaff candidate.
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