Malathaat retains unbeaten record
Daughter of Curlin lands Kentucky Oaks at Churchill
The Todd Pletcher-trained Malathaat (3 f Curlin - Dreaming Of Julia by A.P. Indy) retained her unbeaten record when she narrowly landed the Kentucky Oaks (Gr 1, 9f) at Churchill Downs on Friday, handing the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s operation Shadwell with his first win in the time-honoured Classic.
After a thrilling duel up the straight, the daughter of Curlin (Smart Strike) kept finding more to hand Search Results (Flatter) her first career defeat, eventually beating her by a neck.
The poignant win came a little more than a month after the death of Shadwell owner Sheikh Hamdan, who passed March 24 at 75 and she has now won all five of her career starts, while this was her second victory at top-flight level, having taken out the Ashland Stakes (Gr 1, 8.5f) on her previous appearance on April 3.
"A million things have been going through my mind," said Rick Nichols, general manager and vice president of Shadwell America. "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 I have worked for him for 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."
Meanwhile, Pletcher added: "She has an innate ability to target a horse and want to go by it. 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."
Bought for US$1,050,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Shadwell Estate Company, Malathaat is the only winner out of Grade 1 winner out of Dreaming Of Julia (A P Indy) who is herself a daughter of dual Grade 1 winner Dream Rush (Wild Rush).
Dream Rush is also the dam of Grade 3 winner Dream Pauline (Tapit) and Listed scorer Atreides (Medaglia d’Oro).
Meanwhile, the Hill ‘N’ Dale-based stallion Curlin sired a new stakes winner at Churchill Downs, when the William Mott-trained Obligatory (3 f ex Uno Duo by Macho Uno) landed the Eight Belles Stakes (Gr 2, 7f) which saw the stallion’s stakes-winning total swell to 79.
Bred and raced by Juddmonte Farms, the three-year-old filly beat Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief) by a length, while Make Mischief (Into Mischief) was a further length and three-quarters away in third.
The filly is out of Listed winner Uno Duo (Macho Uno), who is herself a half-sister to Group 1 winner Etoile Montante (Miswaki) - the dam of Grade 2 scorer Starformer (Dynaformer), who in turn produced Listed winner Flavius (War Front).
Curlin’s progeny is headed by 14 top-flight winners, including Vino Rosso, who shuttled to Spendthrift Farm in Australia last season.
Second Grade 1 win for Shedaresthedevil
The Brad Cox-trained Shedaresthedevil (4 m Daredevil - Starship Warpspeed by Congrats) followed up her victory in the Azeri Stakes (Gr 2, 8.5f) with a win in the La Troienne Stakes (Gr 1, 8.5f) - her second at Grade 1 level at Churchill Downs on Friday. The mare landed the Kentucky Oaks (Gr 1, 9f) 12 months ago and she beat Envoutante (Uncle Mo) by a length, while Finite (Munnings) was another two lengths away in third. The mare is one of two elite level winners for Lane’s End-based stallion Daredevil (More Than Ready), with the other being Swiss Skydiver.
34th Grade winner for City Zip
The late Lane’s End-based stallion City Zip (Carson City) was handed his 34th Graded stakes winner when the Joe Sharp-trained Fast Boat (6 c ex Yellow Boat by Lemon Drop Kid) landed the Turf Sprint Stakes (Gr 2m 5.5f) at Churchill Downs on Friday. The six-year-old came into the race off the back of a victory in the Park Pulse Power Turf Sprint Stakes (Listed, 5f) on January 31 and he is one of 90 stakes winners overall for City Zip, who died in 2017.
17 for Bated Breath
Juddmonte Farm sire Bated Breath (Dansili) was handed his 17th stakes winner on Friday courtesy of Gift List’s (3 f ex Birthstone by Machiavellian) victory in the Edgewood Stakes (Gr 2 8.5f) at Churchill Downs. The British-bred filly began her career in the UK with Karl Burke, for whom she one twice and was also placed at Listed level. Bated Breath is the sire of top-flight winner; Viadera and he stands at Banstead Manor in Newmarket for a fee of £12,500.
Fifth stakes victory for Maxfield
Having surrendered his unbeaten record when beaten on his previous start in the Santa Anita Handicap (Gr 1, 10f) on March 6, the Brendan Walsh-trained Maxfield (4 c Street Sense - Velvety by Bernardini) returned to winnings way when he took out the Alysheba Stakes (Gr 2, 8.5f) at Churchill Downs on Friday. A son of former Darley shuttler Street Sense (Street Cry), Maxfield’s five career wins are headed by a victory in the 2019 Breeders' Futurity (Gr 1, 8.5f). Street Cry shuttled to Australia for five seasons and he now resides at Darley Japan.
