Nest spurts away from Clairiere in Shuvee Stakes
?q=100)
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Round One to Nest.
In a matchup of two of the top older dirt females in training, Nest got the jump on Clairiere approaching the top of the stretched and sprinted home the final sixteenth to win Sunday’s Grade 2, $186,000 Shuvee Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths at Saratoga.
Clairiere, the 3-5 favorite, finished 10 lengths clear of Skratch Kat in third. Pistol Liz Ablazen, who set the early pace, finished last in the four-horse field.
Nest, last year’s 3-year-old filly champion, was making her first start since last November’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff, her seasonal debut delayed due to an illness incurred earlier in the year. She was conceding recency to Clairiere who was coming in off two Grade 1 victories in the Apple Blossom and Ogden Phipps.
But Irad Ortiz Jr. was able to nurse Nest along, sitting about a length off pacesetting longshot Pistol Liz Ablazen through six furlongs in 1:14.43. Joel Rosario, aboard Clairiere, was content to just follow Nest from a length or so behind. When the field came to the head of the lane, Nest had plenty left with which to finish, and she ran away from Clairiere.
“I’m just biding my time, she’s coming from a layoff. If I don’t have to ask her to go early, I don’t want to,” Ortiz said. “I look to the inside, I have nobody. [Clairiere] was behind me, I can wait a little longer. After that, when I turned for home, I just let her go.”
Nest, a daughter of Curlin owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Mike Repole, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.72 and returned $3.70 as the 4-5 second choice. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 94.
Rosario felt he had Clairiere in the right position, following Nest and waiting to make a run.
“Turning for home, I was right there. He got away a little bit and I follow him,” Rosario said. “It looked like for a second we might get there, but that filly just took off again.”
Steve Asmussen, the trainer of Clairiere, was frustrated with the way the race developed and the subsequent result.
“Get caught up in these races that have zero pace in them, need to do more with her early,” Asmussen said. “Get involved.”
:: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more.
Todd Pletcher, the trainer of Nest, said he thought he had his filly as best prepared he could off an extended layoff, he just wasn’t sure it would be enough to beat Clairiere.
“It takes an exceptional filly like Nest to be able to do that,” Pletcher said. “Clairiere didn’t hang out too far back, she wanted to keep her eye on us. It worked out well. She’s shown that ability to quicken at the top of the stretch; saw her do that a couple of times here last year.”
Nest improved her record to 8-2-1 from 12 starts and pushed her earnings to $2,083,500. She won the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks and Grade 1 Alabama here last year and will now point to the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 25 and likely rematch with Clairiere.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.