Matareya Could Be Vulnerable Favorite in Eight Belles

Most undercard stakes on Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) weekend are deep and competitive. Handicappers won't find many that are trickier than the $500,000 Eight Belles Stakes Presented by TwinSpires (G2). Seven of the 10 3-year-old fillies have won at least one stakes, and the longer you analyze this seven-furlong puzzle, the harder it is to solve.

Matareya , the 5-2 morning-line favorite, dazzled last month with an 8 1/2-length romp in the $400,000 Beaumont Stakes Presented by Keeneland Select (G3). The margin might have been 12 if Flavien Prat hadn't geared her down late as Keeneland race caller Kurt Becker saluted her as "much, much the best."  

"She broke really well and rated nice," Prat said. "I was on cruise control all the way around."

Ordinarily, Matareya's Beaumont would have made her look unbeatable on May 6, but not when you examine her Eight Belles opponents.

The speedy Marissa's Lady , the 7-2 second choice, is 5-for-5 around one turn and 2-for-2 at Churchill, including a length victory over Matareya last fall going 6 1/2 furlongs in the $193,500 Fern Creek.

The front-running Pretty Birdie  (4-1) has earned two stakes trophies, and Ain't Easy  (12-1), Wicked Halo  (10-1), Sweet Dani Girl  (6-1) and Gerrymander  all have one. Gerrymander handed Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) favorite Nest  her only defeat in five starts, and the Chad Brown runner is only the 8-1 fifth choice. Tough bunch.

Matareya's bloodlines suggest an affinity for distance, but her two worst races were around two turns. She's by Pioneerof the Nile , who sired Triple Crown hero American Pharoah  , and her dam, Innovative Idea, is by Bernardini, the winner of the 2006 Preakness Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1).

"We were hoping she'd go long," trainer Brad Cox said after the Beaumont. "She trained like she would. Flavien made the comment that he didn't see why she wouldn't. But she's kind of showed us she enjoys the cutback, so we'll probably keep her to one turn now. But she's young, and she may get a little more distance once she moves on."

Marissa's Lady inherited speed from her sire, Violence  , a brilliant sprinter, and trainer William Morey has no plans to stretch her out. She won at 6 1/2 furlongs at Turfway Park, where she's 3-for-4 on the synthetic, so seven furlongs should be no problem.   

Matareya is the only Eight Belles runner who's won at seven furlongs, a demanding distance that requires speed and stamina, but that gives her no significant edge. Gerrymander beat Nest in the $150,000 Tempted Stakes, a one-turn mile last Nov. 5 at Aqueduct, and Ain't Easy took the 1 1/16-mile Chandelier Stakes (G2) in October at Santa Anita Park. Marissa's Lady isn't the only one who could give the favorite trouble.

Morey, a 48-year-old native of California, is the son of the late trainer William Morey Jr. He's based at Turfway, and since last year he's also had a small stable in New York. The Ferndale was his first stakes victory at Churchill, and he's hopeful Marissa's Lady can make it 3-for-3 there.

"This place has really grown on me," he said. "You really feel like you're at the home of Thoroughbred racing here."

 A trip to the winner's circle on Oaks Day would be a peak experience.

Entries: Eight Belles S. presented by TwinSpires (G2)

Churchill Downs, Friday, May 06, 2022, Race 9

• Grade II
• 7f
• Dirt
• $500,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 4:04 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Sweet as Pie (KY)	Luis Saez	118	Todd A. Pletcher	12/1
2	2Pretty Birdie (KY)	Florent Geroux	120	Norm W. Casse	4/1
3	3Marissa's Lady (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	118	William E. Morey	7/2
4	4Ain't Easy (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	120	Philip D'Amato	12/1
5	5Wicked Halo (KY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Steven M. Asmussen	10/1
6	6Gerrymander (KY)	Joel Rosario	118	Chad C. Brown	8/1
7	7Lac Vieux Desert (KY)	David Cohen	118	Robertino Diodoro	30/1
8	8Matareya (KY)	Flavien Prat	120	Brad H. Cox	5/2
9	9Awake At Midnyte (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	118	Doug F. O'Neill	15/1
10	10Sweet Dani Girl (FL)	Jose L. Ortiz	118	Carlo Vaccarezza	6/1