Malathaat

Malathaat, a Curlin filly owned by Shadwell Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, won her career debut on Oct. 9 at Belmont Park by 1 ¾ lengths and then stepped up from seven furlongs to mile and easily took the Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct by 7 ¾ lengths on Nov. 6. Pletcher next entered Malathaat in the 1 1/8-mile, Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct on Dec. 5, and she rallied from off the pace through the center of a sloppy stretch to defeat Millefeuille by three-quarters of a length as the odds-on favorite to cap-off her 2-year-old campaign.

Malathaat made her 3-year-old debut in the Grade 1 Central Bank Ashland Stakes at Keeneland on Apr. 3, 2021. She came from behind off a slow early pace to nail front-running Pass the Champagne on the wire, stopping the clock in 1:42.94 for 1 1/16 miles. For that win, Malathaat earned 100 qualifying points for the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks on Apr. 30.

Malathaat took a perfect 4-for-4 record into the Longines Kentucky Oaks on April 30 and went off as the 5-2 favorite in a competitive field. She sat a stalking trip through the backstretch and was all out to defeat Search Results by a neck in a thrilling stretch duel, giving Todd Pletcher his fourth Kentucky Oaks win and jockey John Velazquez his second.

After some time off, Malathaat made her next start in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on July 24. She went off as the overwhelming odds-on favorite. However, she finished second, as longshot Maracuja pulled off a shocking upset. Undeterred, Malathaat bounced back with a 1 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes on Aug. 21. 

Malathaat made her final start of 2021 in the Grade 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 6. She rated off an extremely fast pace and closed to finish third. She was an overwhelming choice as champion 3-year-old female when the 2021 Eclipse Awards were announced, securing 227 out of 235 votes.

After a break of 5 ½ months, Malathaat came back for her 4-year-old campaign in the April 22 Baird Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland. She rallied from off the pace and raced a bit erratically in the stretch, not switching leads until near the finish, but still had enough class to defeat defending race winner Bonny South by three-quarters of a length and tally her fifth graded stakes win.

Malathaat made her next start of 2022 against a small but accomplished field of four other fillies and mares in the Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park on June 11. She came from off the pace along with Clairiere and battled that foe to the finish before settling for second by a head in a game effort.

Malathaat squared off with Clairiere again in the Grade 2 Shuvee Stakes July 24 at Saratoga, and once again settled for second after her rival found an inside path in the homestretch of the 1 1/8-mile race to score by 1 ½ lengths.

Malathaat's breakthrough race of 2022 finally came in the $600,000 Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga on August 27 when she beat a small but select field of fillies and mares including front runners Letruska and Search Results. She also got revenge on her nemesis Clairiere, who didn't fire in the race and finished last of five. Malathaat completed the 1 1/8 miles in a time of 1:48.30 and paid $8.40 to win under regular rider John Velazquez. The victory was the fourth Grade 1 win in Malathaat's career, and her second at Saratoga.

In her final tuneup for the 2022 Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, Malathaat returned to Keeneland and improved her record on the track to 3-for-3 with a dominant 5 ¾-length win in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, cementing her position as a favorite for the Distaff four weeks later at Keeneland.

Malathaat's final race of her 2022 4-year-old season came, as expected, in the Grade 1 $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, and in one of the closest and most thrilling finishes of the year she prevailed in a three-horse photo finish by a head to prevail over both Blue Stripe and Clairiere at the wire. Malathaat was sent off as the 5-2 second choice in a field of eight. She laid off the pace and then made a five-wide move into contention on the turn under jockey John Velazquez. Blue Stripe had taken the lead in deep stretch and was fighting to hold off a late rail bid from Clairiere as Malathaat ranged up fully extended on the outside to get up just in time for the win on the line in a time for the 1 1/8 miles of 1:49.07.

Shadwell purchased Malathaat for $1.05 million at the 2019 Keeneland September yearling sale. She is out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia, and her second dam is Grade 1 winner Dream Rush.