Malathaat Stays Perfect With Determined Oaks Victory

Less than a year removed from a Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) run under COVID-19 protocols in early September, the 2021 running returned to its rightful spot the day before the First Saturday in May at Churchill Downs and delivered a performance worthy of its lofty status.

After a thrilling stretch duel of two tenacious 3-year-old fillies, Shadwell Stable's Malathaat  prevailed over Klaravich Stables' Search Results  by a neck to win the $1.25 million race.

Malathaat, a daughter of top sire Curlin  , secured her fifth win in as many starts April 30 as she held sway to the line. Will's Secret  finished third, 2 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up.

Malathaat was sent off the 5-2 favorite in Friday's field of 13 3-year-old fillies and ran to her backing. Search Results was the 5-1 second choice.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and guided to victory by John Velazquez, the striking bay filly completed the 1 1/8-miles in 1:48.99 on a fast track.

The poignant win came a little more than a month after the death of Shadwell owner Sheikh Hamdan, who passed March 24 at 75. Hamdan's pursuit of excellence in racing was global in reach, running operations in Europe, Australia, South Africa, and North America,  where his Shadwell Estate is a major landholder in Central Kentucky. Rick Nichols, currently the general manager and vice president of Shadwell, worked for Sheikh Hamdan for more than 35 years.

"A million things have been going through my mind," Nichols said after the race. "We heard that there were several people in Dubai that stayed up late hours to watch. You know, losing the boss the way we did and him coming off a great year—he was the leading owner in Europe last year. And we have many good horses in our stable this year. And having Malathaat to step up and give him an Oaks win is more than we could ask for.

"Sheikh Hamdan, to racing, was such an influence, in England, in Ireland, in the U.S. He was so supportive," Nichols continued. "He loved the sport. Even in his advanced years, he didn't lose his passion for it. But personally, June 1st, I have worked for him 36 years. He was a very, very close friend. He was a lot of times a father figure, sometimes like a brother, sometimes like a friend. But he was always the boss. I loved him dearly. He'll always be missed.

Pletcher won his fourth Oaks, tied for second-most all-time with Ben Jones and Pletcher's mentor D. Wayne Lukas. Woody Stevens has the most victories with five.

"She has an innate ability to target a horse and want to go by it," said Pletcher, who earlier in the week described her as "a star."

"We've always felt she was a special filly from day one. We've been blessed to have the opportunity to train her. She's so professional."

Pletcher praised Velazquez for overcoming a bumpy start that could have left Malathaat at the back of the pack.

"She didn't get away real cleanly. She got bumped around at the start and I think Johnny made a key decision recovering that position heading into the first turn and that made a huge difference," he said.

With reduced capacity restrictions amid COVID-19, attendance at Churchill Downs was 41,472 for the Oaks. While most took in the good weather while watching the races maskless, all were treated to the sixth-fastest Oaks in history.

Following the scratch of Ava's Grace  two days before the race, 13 fillies broke from the gate. Travel Column  got the early lead, running the opening quarter in a demanding :23.60 for 1 1/8. Velazquez settled Malathaat in fifth position, traveling a bit wide but clear as the field went into the first bend.

"She didn't get away the best, but I got a spot with her," Velazquez said.

Longshot Moraz  gave chase on the front end. The opening half-mile went in :47.47 and six furlongs in 1:11.31 as Travel Column continued, but Malathaat inched closer, as did Search Results and Will's Secret under Jon Court.

In upper stretch it became apparent Malathaat and Search Results were going to duke it out. Malathaat got the upper hand at the eighth pole but Search Results was unwavering. They were well clear of their rivals in a thriller at the line.

"When I turned for home I had a target to send her after," Velazquez said. "We got up next to (Search Results) and my filly went by. Then she waited a bit; she does that. The other filly came back but I could tell I was still in control. I never thought I was going to do anything but win."

"She ran her heart out. She left it all out on the track," Search Results' trainer Chad Brown said. "It was two undefeated horses going for the wire, and she got beat. I'm so proud of the horse. I can't ask for a better effort."

Malathaat made her debut last October going seven furlongs at Belmont Park, winning by 1 3/4 lengths under Velazquez. She ran Breeders' Cup weekend at Aqueduct Racetrack, drawing clear by 7 3/4 lengths in the one-mile Tempted Stakes with Kendrick Carmouche aboard. She later annexed the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) under Velazquez.

Her 3-year-old debut was delayed a week by Hamdan's death March 24.

"We angled her toward the Gulfstream Park Oaks, but when Sheikh Maktoum (Sheikh Hamdan's father) passed years ago, Sheikh Hamdan called me and said, 'Please don't run any of our horses during a 10-day mourning period,' " Nichols said last month. "So, I asked (trainer) Todd Pletcher, 'What about the Ashland?' He said, 'That would be great.'"

In that start April 3, Malathaat fought hard in the lane under Joel Rosario to win by a head over Pass the Champagne .

"She was always Johnny's filly," Pletcher said of the return to the Hall of Fame rider. "With the COVID situation over the last year, I said earlier this week, I don't think that I've had more jockey changes in the last year than in the last 20 years combined. There are so many different things...Johnny was supposed to ride her in the Gulfstream Park Oaks, and then he was committed the next week to ride Medina Spirit at Santa Anita, so he wasn't available for the Ashland.

"It's an example of what has been going on. Early in the pandemic, the testing restrictions and travel restrictions ... there were a lot of scenarios where Johnny wasn't riding a horse for us when he normally would have, but a lot of that were events that out of all our control. After the Ashland Rick and I talked and we felt like she was Johnny's filly all along."

Pletcher's first Kentucky Oaks score came in 2004 with Velazquez aboard Ashado . Pletcher has also won with Rags to Riches  (2007), and Princess of Sylmar .

The winner was bred by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings and is out of Stonestreet's stellar mare Dreaming of Julia . Dreaming of Julia won the 2012 Frizette Stakes (G1) as a Stonestreet homebred and also won the 2013 Gulfstream Park Oaks. She ran fourth as the favorite in the 2013 Oaks behind Princess of Sylmar, Beholder , and Unlimited Budget for Stonestreet and Pletcher.

Stonestreet was represented by two homebred runners in the Oaks: Clairiere  (out of Cavorting ) ran fourth, and Pauline's Pearl  (out of Hot Dixie Chick ) finished eighth.

Stonestreet entered Malathaat in the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale as part of the Denali Stud consignment and Nichols snapped her up for $1.05 million for Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Estate Co.

"I couldn't believe they even considered selling her," Nichols said. "The main thing is, I'm glad we got her. She was a gorgeous yearling filly and that was the last year Sheikh Hamdan was here for the sales. That year we really focused on getting some well-bred fillies, and she fit that bill."

Malathaat's Oaks score ranks up among the top U.S. wins for Shadwell Stable. The late Sheikh Maktoum won the 2006 Belmont Stakes (G1) with Jazil  and the 2006 Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge with Horse of the Year Invasor. Other Breeders' Cup scores came with Lahoudood (2007 Filly & Mare Turf, G1T) and Tamarkuz   (2016 Dirt Mile, G1).

Video: Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1)