LEXINGTON, Ky. - Throughout her brilliant career, Malathaat has been involved in a lot of close finishes, winning most, losing some. In what was the closest finish of any of her 14 races, Malathaat, under John Velazquez, lumbered down the center of the Keeneland surface to just get her nose on the wire first over upset-minded Blue Stripe, who nosed out a rail-rallying Clairiere for second in a stirring renewal of the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland. The win was the 10th in 14 starts for Malathaat, a daughter of Curlin. It was her third consecutive Grade 1 stakes victory, almost certainly clinching an Eclipse Award for the Shadwell Stable star, who was also 3-year-old champion filly of 2021. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2022: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division Nest, the 3-year-old stablemate of Malathaat, finished fourth, followed by Secret Oath, Search Results, Society, and Awake at Midnyte. Malathaat now has won six races by less than one length. “She can be a little tricky,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “She needs a little while to get revved up and you can’t make the lead too soon with her, but I told Johnny that’s timing it a little too close for my liking. I could see she had a head of steam built up. She was motoring down the middle of the track. I was just hoping she had enough time to get there.” So did Velazquez. After saving ground down the backstretch, Velazquez and Malathaat found themselves behind Awake at Midnyte around the half-mile pole when there were five horses across the track. With Awake at Midnyte stopping, Velazquez had to go four wide entering the turn. Meanwhile, Blue Stripe, under Hector Berrios, was along the inside. Approaching the top of the lane, Secret Oath came away with the lead from a struggling Nest. Turning for home, Berrios brought Blue Stripe four wide while Velazquez had Malathaat outside of her. Blue Stripe appeared to be getting away from Malathaat in midstretch, but when Malathaat changed leads, she lengthened stride and was able to get there on time over Blue Stripe and Clairiere, who was rallying from last along the rail under Joel Rosario. “[Awake at Midnyte] kind of stopped in front of me and turned me sideways and took my momentum away from me a little bit,” Velazquez said. “[Blue Stripe] pulled out of there and it took me a long time to get into a rhythm again. At the wire I thought I got it, but it was so close I didn’t want to jinx myself.” Malathaat covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.07 and returned $7.76 as the second choice. She was given a Beyer Speed Figure of 102. Trainer Marcelo Polanco thought Blue Stripe won, but was proud of the mare’s effort in defeat. “Look at the board - she was 24-1,” Polanco said. Nobody believed in her. We did believe in her. She was training super and she performed super. It’s always disappointing, but I’m happy. She did what she was supposed to do. She ran her ass off all the way to the finish line. I’m very proud of the filly.” Clairiere, who had beaten Malathaat twice earlier in the year, came up just short. “She ran a fabulous race,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “It was just inches … inches.” Nest, the 7-5 favorite, was beaten 3 3/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! “Nothing worked out well for Nest today,” Pletcher said. “She didn’t jump well, she was spinning her wheels around the first turn and she was very wide all the way around. Because she wasn’t in the position we wanted to be, Irad had to make a move sooner than he wanted to and very wide while doing it. I was concerned when they hit the first turn that it wasn’t going her way today.” Malathaat’s future is uncertain. Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum, the head of Shadwell, died in April of 2021. His daughter Sheikha Hissa took over the stable and kept Malathaat in training at 4. Gregory Clarke, who represented Shadwell Stable Saturday, said Malathaat would go to the farm for a rest while a decision on her future is made. “Typically, Sheikh Hamdan would never keep fillies in training after 4, but Sheikha Hissa decided to keep them in training at 4,” Clarke said. “Why stop now? She’s incredible. Keep going. She’s at the top of her game. We’ll see what the family wants to do.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.