Malathaat Carries on Family Tradition in Demoiselle
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Photo: Coglianese Photos
Malathaat wins the Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack
Shadwell Stable's Malathaat carried on a family tradition Dec. 5 with a powerful late rally in the $150,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
The 2-year-old Curlin filly joined her dam, Dreaming of Julia, and her grandam, Dream Rush, to become a third-generation graded stakes winner. Dream Rush, out of the unraced Unbridled mare Turbo Dream, set the standard with two top-level wins——the Prioress Stakes (G1) and the Darley Test Stakes (G1) in 2007—among her four graded scores. Dreaming of Julia won the 2012 Frizette Stakes (G1) and 2013 Gulfstream Oaks (G2).
Malathaat also ran her way onto the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. The 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle is a qualifying race, with the top four finishers receiving points on a 10-4-2-1 basis toward a spot in the starting gate for the 2021 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).
"I'll talk to the guys at Shadwell and (vice president and general manager) Rick Nichols, and we'll come up with a game plan," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "We felt like she's a (Kentucky) Oaks-caliber filly, and we'll take her down to Florida pretty soon and start preparing for that."
Coming off a win in the Nov. 6 Tempted Stakes going a mile at Aqueduct after breaking her maiden at first asking Oct. 9 over seven furlongs at Belmont Park, Malathaat struggled on the inside on a sloppy (sealed) track after breaking from post 1 under Hall of Famer John Velazquez.
"In her first two wins, she was pretty straightforward and didn't get a lot of dirt in her face or anything like that," Pletcher said. "(Today) she was on and off the bridle and a little bit green, still, and there was a little bit of traffic, but in the end, she found more and showed the quality filly that she is."
Traffic Lane showed the way through an opening quarter in :23.69 and a half in :48.50, then conceded the advantage to Millefeuille through three-quarters in 1:13.33, with Malathaat tracking along in fourth behind Malibu Curl. Millefeuille appeared poised to carry off the victory under Joel Rosario through a 1:39.12 mile, but Malathaat was looming after shifting out five wide. Finally finding her best stride, the bay filly accelerated in the final eighth of a mile and got up to win by three-quarters of a length.
"(Today) she wasn't comfortable inside," Pletcher said. "I think she was unsure of the footing early on. I was worried at multiple points of the race. Sometimes drawing the rail is great, and this time it seemed to have backfired on us a couple of times. In the final eighth of a mile, she was able to get into her comfort zone and rhythm, and that's when she showed what she's all about.
"She did it with her ears pricked, so in the end, it was impressive that she could do that. Some lesser-quality horses might have thrown in the towel at some stage, but when she got rolling, she was impressive."
The final time was 1:52.36.
"Her class was what kept her going and got her there on time," Velazquez said. "She was never comfortable and not running into a spot I wanted. She never really put that much effort into keeping a spot. Finally, when I tipped her out heading to the quarter pole, she started running."
After getting nipped in the final strides, Rosario found no shame in Millefeuille's game. The Juddmonte Farms homebred was making her first start in graded company for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott off an Oct. 23 maiden win at second asking.
"She did everything right. She took the lead nice and easy. I went on and I thought I had the race won. The other horse put in a nice run in the end," he said.
Malibu Curl finished third, 4 1/2 lengths back, completing a trifecta for Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa stallion Curlin. The order of finish was completed by Cafe Society, Traffic Lane, and Celestial Cheetah. Caramocha and Dollar Mountain were scratched.
Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Malathaat ran her record to 3-for-3 and improved her earnings to $172,150. She was a $1.05 million purchase by Shadwell at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Pletcher, who also trained Dreaming of Julia, said he can see similarities in the filly and her dam. While her first two foals are unraced, Dreaming of Julia has a yearling Medaglia d'Oro colt, foaled a Curlin filly April 6, and was sent back to Medaglia d'Oro this year.
"They are both nice fillies to be around, very professional in the mornings, and very sweet around the barn," the trainer said. "They are very easy to take care of, and they both have shown they want to run long. Dreaming of Julia was a really high-quality filly, and I think this filly is of the same ilk."