Malathaat Looks to Take Next Step in Demoiselle

After rolling to a 7 3/4-length victory in the Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack, Shadwell Stable's Malathaat will stretch out to two turns for the first time in her graded stakes debut Dec. 5 in the $150,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) back at the Jamaica, N.Y., track.

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Malathaat registered a clear victory in her maiden debut Oct. 9 at Belmont Park before her dominating win in the Nov. 6 Tempted. Trained by Todd Pletcher, she has stretched out a furlong in each start: seven furlongs in her debut, the one-turn mile in the Tempted, and Saturday's 1 1/8-mile test for 2-year-old fillies.

Shadwell went to $1.05 million at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to land the daughter of Curlin —Dreaming of Julia, by A.P. Indy. Malathaat is the first starter for Dreaming of Julia, who also showed precociousness, winning the 2012 Frizette Stakes (G1) at 2. 

With that breeding, Malathaat certainly figures to handle the added distance.

"You would think with her pedigree and the way she won going a mile, that a stretch out should not be an issue," Pletcher said. "She's always trained like a quality filly that wants two turns, so we're excited about stretching her out. This filly has been a star from day one, basically."

Hall of Famer John Velazquez—aboard for her debut score, which secured the rider his 2,000th win—might face a bit of a challenge as Malathaat figures to have a target on her back when she starts from the rail in the expected field of eight.

Pletcher also will send out Repole Stable's Traffic Lane, who in her third start won a maiden special weight race Nov. 15 on the Aqueduct outer turf.

While there is no other stakes winner in the field, six of the runners enter off maiden wins, with four of those victories by margins of three lengths or more for Millefeuille, Dollar Mountain, Caramocha, and Celestial Cheetah. 

Juddmonte Farms homebred Millefeuille, also a daughter of Curlin, appeared to put everything together in her second start Oct. 23 when she drew off in the stretch of a one-turn mile race at Belmont to register a four-length score under Joel Rosario, who will be aboard again Saturday. Since that impressive effort, Millefeuille has worked four times for trainer Bill Mott, including a five-furlong move in 1:01 4/5 Nov. 25 on the Belmont training track, where she earned the bullet from 19 workers.

"She's doing good. It seems like a good distance for her," Mott said of Saturday's assignment.

Entries: Demoiselle S. (G2)

Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, December 05, 2020, Race 9

• Grade II
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 3:44 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Malathaat (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	4/5
2	2Traffic Lane (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	Todd A. Pletcher	20/1
3	3Millefeuille (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	William I. Mott	7/2
4	4Malibu Curl (KY)	Junior Alvarado	118	Thomas Albertrani	6/1
5	5Dollar Mountain (KY)	Jose Lezcano	118	George Weaver	12/1
6	6Cafe Society (ON)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Claude R. McGaughey III	6/1
7	7Caramocha (NY)	Dylan Davis	118	Mitchell E. Friedman	15/1
8	8Celestial Cheetah (FL)	Manuel Franco	118	Jeremiah O'Dwyer	30/1