Breeders' Cup Distaff looking like intramural battle between Nest, Malathaat
Trainer Todd Pletcher managed to avoid running Nest and Malathaat against each other this prep season, postponing the ultimate question until the Breeders' Cup. Which filly is better – 3-year-old Nest or 4-year-old Malathaat?
The stablemates finally will meet in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 5 at Keeneland, both in top form. Nest trounced her opponents in the Grade 2 Beldame by more than nine lengths Sunday at Aqueduct, her third straight romp. Malathaat won the Grade 1 Spinster by more than five lengths on Sunday at Keeneland.
“We do the best we can to try to separate them when possible, and were able to do that in the final preps,” Pletcher said, knowing a showdown looms. “There’s only one Breeders’ Cup Distaff.”
Decisive prep wins by Nest and Malathaat solidified their status as Distaff favorites; Daily Racing Form lowered the early prices on both. Nest drops to 2-1; Malathaat goes to 5-2. They are followed by Search Results, 5-1; Clairiere and Society, both 6-1; Secret Oath, 12-1; and Blue Stripe and Army Wife, both 20-1.
Meanwhile, 2021 champion Letruska is not expected in the Distaff after finishing fourth by 16 3/4 lengths in the Spinster. Trainer Fausto Gutierrez said Wednesday the future of the 6-year-old mare is undecided after her third straight defeat.
“For the Distaff, I don’t think so,” Gutierrez said. “The circumstances don’t look like we need to be there. It’s time to check very, very carefully and decide what is next with her, and decide if she has a chance for one more race, or what is next.”
Retirement is an option for Letruska, who began her career with Gutierrez in Mexico and emerged as the top filly or mare in the United States last year. Overall, she has won 19 races, including five Grade 1s, and earned more than $3 million from 28 starts.
“She put me on the map in this country,” Gutierrez said. “I am sad, but at the same time I understand all the satisfactions, all the races she won, and the incredible campaign she had in the last year.”
The status of Shedaresthedevil also is uncertain. A three-time Grade 1 winner including the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, Shedaresthedevil entered midweek without a workout since Sept. 24.
First to Act, the Spinster runner-up, will not run in the Distaff, according to trainer Shug McGaughey; the Grade 2 Falls City on Nov. 24 at Churchill Downs is an option for her. Midnight Memories, who won the Grade 2 Zenyatta at Santa Anita, will not run in the Distaff.
Defections aside, the main Distaff developments were by stablemates Nest and Malathaat. Pletcher said neither will be considered for the BC Classic, unless “the landscape was to dramatically change in the next couple of weeks.”
The 9 3/4-length Beldame romp by Nest was her seventh win from 10 starts, delivered with a burst of speed.
“To me, what’s really impressive is the turn of foot she can deliver on the dirt, which you don’t always see,” Pletcher said. “She’s got a turn of foot. She can accelerate. At the top of the stretch, she just kind of blows everyone away.”
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Nest has thrived during an enterprising campaign that included runner-up finishes in the Kentucky Oaks and Belmont Stakes.
“A lot of times when you have young fillies, you’re trying to coddle them along a little bit,” Pletcher said. “Try to keep some condition on them, and not over-race them or over-train them.
“In Nest’s case, I don’t think I’ve ever had a horse bounce out of the Belmont as well as she did. Physically, just see her improve and gain weight. Sometimes [the Belmont] can be a taxing race. In her case, it seemed to propel her forward.”
Nest has not lost since. She won the Grade 1 Coaching Club America Oaks by more than 12 and the Grade 1 Alabama by more than four prior to the Beldame. Her rider is Irad Ortiz Jr.
Malathaat also improved as the season unfolded, particularly since adding blinkers three starts back, halfway through her 4-year-old campaign. The Spinster was her ninth win from 13 starts, and her 5 1/4-length margin was the biggest of her career.
“What I liked is she polished it off,” Pletcher said. “She has a tendency to sort of run to her competition, and she’s such an intelligent filly. She kind of thinks that when she gets to the front, the game is over. That’s why we added blinkers late.
“Like that she kind of stayed the task to the wire and drew off from the competition, which she really hasn’t done probably since the maiden win and the Tempted.”
John Velazquez is the rider of Malathaat.
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