Clairiere can strengthen grip on division with win in Personal Ensign

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A coronation or a comeback?

That’s what appears to be at stake in Saturday’s Grade 1, $600,000 Personal Ensign at Saratoga when Clairiere looks to solidify her status as the top older female dirt horse in training against champions Malathaat and Letruska in the 1 1/8-mile race.

Clairiere beat Malathaat, last year’s 3-year-old filly champion, by a head in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, the same race that Letruska, last year’s older female dirt champion, folded and faded to last after going too fast early.

Clairiere defeated Malathaat by 1 1/2 lengths when the two met in last month’s Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes here. It was only a year ago when Clairiere twice finished behind Malathaat here, first in the Coaching Club American Oaks and then the Alabama.

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“I didn’t like the trips she got here last year,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Clairiere for owner/breeder Stonestreet Stables. “She’s capable of giving herself a better trip, probably. She’s a little quicker to get her spots, where last year it seemed like her spots were kind of taken away from her in the running of the race.”

Clairiere’s speed figures suggest she is a faster 4-year-old than 3-year-old. She’s registered three consecutive triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures. She had one last year, that being her last start of the year, a close fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Clairiere breaks from post 3 under Joel Rosario.

Malathaat’s victories in the Ashland, Coaching Club Oaks, and Alabama earned her the 3-year-old filly championship in 2021. After beginning the year with a victory in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare, she fell just short in a stretch drive with Clairiere in the Phipps.

Trainer Todd Pletcher added blinkers to Malathaat’s equipment for the Shuvee, but she finished second again. Pletcher blamed the result on Malathaat being quieter than usual in the paddock and on the track prior to the Shuvee, perhaps owing to the heat that afternoon.

“She’s not a real animated filly to begin with, but I’ve never seen her that dull in the paddock before a race,” Pletcher said. “The fact that she ran second I think says something about her. . . . The winner’s very good, but we just didn’t feel like it was her day. The only reason I could find was it was so hot.”

Pletcher has liked what he’s seen from Malathaat since the Shuvee.

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“She’s trained great, looks great. We’re hoping she runs up to her capabilities,” said Pletcher, whose filly breaks from post 5 under John Velazquez.

Letruska is coming off a last-place finish in the Phipps. Trainer Fausto Gutierrez felt there were a few circumstances that factored into that, including a slight fever the mare had earlier that week.

“We ran because we thought she was okay, but you know when your horse is not the same,” Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez took Letruska back to Kentucky after the Phipps and said he gave the filly a series of strong moves leading up to the Personal Ensign.

“I trained her much stronger,” Gutierrez said. “If I’m here it’s because I have a real serious chance.”

Gutierrez noted that Gabriel Lagunes, exercise rider of Rich Strike, got on Letruska both at Belmont before the Phipps and the last few mornings here in Saratoga.

Gutierrez said Lagunes told him “This is not the same horse I galloped at Belmont,” a reference to her doing better now than she was then.

Letruksa breaks from the rail under Jose Ortiz.

It was Search Results who made the first run at Letruska in the Phipps, and she hung in to finish third. Search Results came out of that race to romp in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher, a two-turn, 1 1/16-mile race at Monmouth Park. Trainer Chad Brown said the fact Saratoga’s main track has sped up this week is one reason why he chose to run.

”She’s been training well on it,” Brown said. “Tough group. She showed she belongs, especially in her race in the Phipps. I thought she ran the best race and probably should have won, she just moved too soon. That was at Belmont, where she has an affinity, and it was at a mile and sixteenth. I’m not confused about that. This is a different situation.”

Crazy Beautiful, trained by Kenny McPeek, has earned $1 million, but she has been unsuccessful for the most part against the likes of Malathaat, Clairiere, and Letrsuka.

The Personal Ensign goes as race 9 (4:32 p.m.) on the 13-race Travers card that begins at 11:35 a.m.