Malathaat surges in final strides to take Ashland Stakes

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Racing can be fun and games, but real life came to the fore Saturday when Malathaat remained unbeaten with a last-gasp victory in the 84th running of the Grade 1, $400,000 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland.

It was only because of the March 24 death of the filly’s owner, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum of Shadwell Stable, that Malathaat made her 3-year-old debut in the Ashland. Trainer Todd Pletcher had intended to run Malathaat on the Saturday beforehand in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, but a 10-day moratorium on racing activity for all Shadwell runners was put in place out of respect for Sheikh Hamdan.

Rick Nichols, the longtime general manager for Shadwell, was so overcome with emotion when being interviewed on in-house television after the Ashland that he could barely speak.

“I’m sure he’s up there with a big smile on his face, looking down on us,” Nichols said.

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Racing toward the rear of a field of six 3-year-old fillies for much of the 1 1/16-mile Ashland, Malathaat and jockey Joel Rosario got rolling in the far turn while still having much to do to catch Pass the Champagne, who had opened daylight on the field after taking over for Simply Ravishing with about a quarter-mile to go. It wasn’t until the final yards of a short-stretch run (the finish is otherwise the sixteenth pole) that Malathaat surged past Pass the Champagne, with the win margin being a head.

Malathaat, a bay Kentucky-bred by Curlin, returned $5 as the favorite after finishing in 1:42.94 over a fast track and got an 89 Beyer Speed Figure. It was another 5 1/4 lengths back to Will’s Secret in third, with Moon Swag another 5 1/4 lengths back in fourth. Curlin’s Catch was fifth and Simply Ravishing was last.

Incredibly, Malathaat gave Rosario his fifth of six winning rides from the first eight stakes run at a Keeneland spring meet that opened Friday, but perhaps even more importantly she stamped herself as one of the favorites for the April 30 Kentucky Oaks. The Ashland was a 100-40-20-10 points qualifier for the filly classic at Churchill Downs.

Malathaat won all three starts last year at 2, including the Tempted and Grade 2 Demoiselle, and had trained brilliantly at Pletcher’s winter base at the Palm Beach Downs training center in Delray Beach, Fla., ahead of her seasonal debut.

“I thought she ran great,” Pletcher said from New York, where just minutes later he would upset the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct with 72-1 shot Bourbonic for Calumet Farm. Pass the Champagne “ran a big race, kind of cut the corner and got the jump on her. I was proud of her to keep coming.

“I have a lot of confidence in this filly’s ability. She’s very impressive to train, but I still thought she had a lot to do. I knew she’d close the gap, I just didn’t know if she could get all the way there. They were running, they were finishing, the filly in front wasn’t slowing down – she just found a little more.”

Regarding the victory coming 10 days after the sheikh’s death, Pletcher said: “It’s kind of bittersweet ... this filly has been special from day one and the fact we trained her mother, that was kind of extra special.”

Malathaat was produced by Dreaming of Julia, who won the Grade 1 Frizette for Pletcher and Stonestreet Stables in October 2012 and the Grade 2 Gulfstream Oaks the following spring. Stonestreet is the breeder of Malathaat, a $1,050,000 yearling purchase.

Pass the Champagne, trained by Pletcher’s former longtime assistant, George Weaver, was making her stakes debut after dominating a one-turn-mile maiden race in her second career start Feb. 27 at Gulfstream. Weaver also winters at Palm Beach Downs.

“I know Todd is very high” on Malathaat, Weaver said. “There’s no embarrassment getting beat by her today. First time two turns, I’d look for a big improvement next time,” likely in the Oaks as well.

The $2 exacta (5-2) paid $23.40, the $1 trifecta (5-2-6) returned $37.80, and the 10-cent superfecta (5-2-6-4) was worth $14.92.

– additional reporting by David Grening