Coaching Club American Oaks (Grade 1)
EVEN in a four-runner Grade 1 with an odds-on favourite, Saratoga’s famous title as the ‘Graveyard of Champions’ reared its head last weekend when the previously unbeaten Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks Malathaat met her first defeat and by the outsider of the field.
The 14/1 shot Maracuja proved too strong for Malathaat in the final furlong to prevail by a head in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks for three-year-old fillies at the Spa. Maracuja was only seventh behind Malathaat in the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
The grey daughter of Honor Code, who had enjoyed his biggest day at Saratoga in 2015 when winning the Grade 1 Whitney, gave trainer Rob Atras his first Grade 1 win.
“All week I heard about the Graveyard of Favorites and I tried not to pay any attention to it. I just wanted my filly to run her race and finish second or third and get a nice race into her,” Atras said.
“I was thrilled turning for home when it looked like she might be second but as the wire got closer she bore down and got up. It’s really thrilling. It still hasn’t set in that I won a Grade 1 stakes. To beat a filly as accomplished as Malathaat is special.” The CCA Oaks was just the third graded stakes win for the 37-year-old New York-based Atras.
Malathaat, going for six in a row, broke quickly from the rail under John Velazquez and led into the first turn in the nine-furlong contest.
Irad Ortiz Jr. made a move with Clairiere on the backstretch and drew alongside Malathaat after a half mile in 47.13secs. Clairiere could not get by the favourite, but six furlongs in 1m 11.02 would hurt Malathaat as jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. moved Maracuja into contention on the turn.
Malathaat led by a half-length in midstretch, but Maracuja kept coming and got the lead in the final strides to post a narrow victory by a head in a time of 1m 49.29secs. Clairiere weakened to third.
Of Malathaat, trainer Todd Pletcher said: “She fought off everyone in the field and that’s what we were concerned about when she drew the one hole. It was a race on paper that didn’t have much speed and you have a target on your back so we elected to go ahead and put her in the race and they went a little quick.
“I thought she put in a game effort and hadn’t run in a while so hopefully this will move her forward.”
United going strong
Richard Mandella’s six-year-old gelding United still showed he has plenty to offer when the son of Giant’s Causeway came through to take the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes over nine furlongs on turf at Del Mar. It was his second successive win in the race and he beat favourite Smooth Like Strait by half a length.
Also at Del Mar, Irish-bred Going Global’s winning run came to an end when she was out-finished by Madone in the Grade 2 San Clemente Stakes last Sunday.
KERRYMAN Sean McDermott had his first winner as a trainer when Favorite Image, owned by the late Bob Kinsley’s South Branch Equine, scored a front-running triumph on July 23rd at Pimlico.
McDermott has enjoyed success on the steeplechase circuit in the US and was twice leading rider in the country in prize money earned with Grade 1 winners over jumps in the 2016 Lonesome Glory Handicap and 2017 and 2019 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle Stakes with Scorpiancer.
“I’ve ridden a lot of winners all over the world, from Australia to Ireland, England, America, everywhere. The first one as a trainer is more pride, especially with this horse because the previous advice Mr. Kinsley had gotten was to give this horse away,” McDermott said.
McDermott continues to ride over jumps. “I am a jump jockey, really. I’m an accidental trainer. This definitely was not a planned vocation. I guess Covid had a lot to do with how this came up.
“Basically, myself and my fiancée were looking for an apartment or a house to live in, and Mr. Kinsley was looking for somebody to take care of a recent property he bought in early 2020,” he added.
McDermott operates out of Maple Springs Farm in Monkton, Maryland. Kinsley was also a prominent steeplechase owner and philanthropist who passed away last June at the age of 79.
“We’re kind of sorting through them but there’s 11 or 12 here now. There’s maybe two steeplechasers and the horse that won, he seems pretty good after the race so we’ll probably run him back in a few weeks. He will start over hurdles in the fall. He can mix the flat and hurdles, no problem,” he said.