Clairiere Captures Top-Level Score in Cotillion

Stonestreet Stables' homebred Clairiere  has been closing in on a grade 1 win this season, and Sept. 25 at Parx Racing her late run carried her to top honors in the $999,500 Cotillion Stakes (G1).

With Ricardo Santana Jr. up, Clairiere rallied five-wide down the stretch and continued on to a 2 1/2-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile event. It was her first win in six starts since taking the Feb. 13 Rachel Alexandra Stakes Presented by Fasig-Tipton (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, though she continued to place well in her subsequent races.

Clairiere had been chasing Malathaat , finishing fourth behind her in the April 30 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), third in the July 24 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1)—in which fellow Cotillion runner Maracuja  upset Malathaat by a head—and last out finished second to Malathaat in the Aug. 21 Alabama Stakes (G1).

But Saturday Clairiere, a daughter of Curlin   trained by Steve Asmussen, got the job done.

"She was away from the gate good, and was carrying really, really well, and I can't tell you what it means for Clairiere and Stonestreet and that family that she comes from," said Asmussen, who trained two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. "She was carrying along nicely within herself within striking range. She's kept herself in great company all year and getting good when it matters most. Obviously, we're going to speak to Stonestreet and stuff, with the numbers she's got she's consistently getting faster at the right time."

Bred in Kentucky, Clairiere is the first foal out of Stonestreet's Bernardini mare Cavorting , who at 3 won the Longines Test Stakes (G1) and at 4 stretched out to win the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) and Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) for former trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.

Clairiere was settled sixth of eight by Santana in the early going of the Cotillion. Up front, Always Carina  showed the way through easy quarter-mile fractions of :24.92, :49.67, and 1:13.87. Grade 2 winner Obligatory  pressed the pace in second ahead of Maracuja, and Army Wife , another grade 2 winner, raced mid-pack.

Santana asked Clairiere to go on the turn and the pair swung out into the stretch. As five of them lined up across the track, Clairiere circled the field and cruised to grade 1 glory as she completed the distance in 1:44.31 on the fast track. She paid $7.20 for a $2 win ticket as the favorite.

Obligatory was a steady second, holding off Army Wife by a half-length. Army Wife got up by a neck for third. Maracuja, Always Carina, Leader of the Band , Will's Secret , and Allworthy  completed the order of finish. Private Mission  was scratched and is expected to run in the Oct. 3 Zenyatta Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park.

Clairiere improved her record to 3-3-2 from nine starts and pushed her earnings to $1,190,992.

Cavorting has produced two foals since Clairiere. Her second foal is La Crete, an unraced 2-year-old Medaglia d'Oro   filly who worked a half-mile in :50 Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs. Last year Cavorting produced a full brother to Clairiere; that colt sold for $550,000 to Muir Hut Stables out of the consignment of Eaton Sales, agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised, at the recent Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Cavorting was bred to Into Mischief   for 2022.