SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – There will be no easing back into competition for champion Nest (Curlin). Certainly not on a Sunday in July at Saratoga Race Course.
In the first start of her 4-year-old season–which was delayed by illness–in the GII Shuvee S., Nest is likely to face Clairiere (Curlin), the leader of the older female dirt division, and GI La Troienne winner Played Hard (Into Mischief).
“It's not the position we set out to be on at the beginning of this year, but it's kind of where we are,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We've given up some recency to some really good horses, so hopefully she runs well and it brings her forward.”
Nest, co-owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, really strengthened her case for the 3-year-old filly championship last summer at Saratoga with emphatic victories over Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and the GI Alabama S. Secret Oath won the GI Kentucky Oaks by two lengths over Nest, the 2-1 favorite. In the showdowns at Saratoga after Triple Crown tests against males–Secret Oath was fourth in the GI Preakness S., Nest was second in the GI Belmont S.–Nest left no doubt about who deserved to be at the top of the table. She won the CCA Oaks by 12 1/4 lengths and the 1 1/4-miles Alabama by 4 1/4.
In her first test against older horses, Nest crushed the field in the GII Beldame S. by 9 1/4 lengths. She was the 7-5 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, but ended up fourth, some 3 1/4 lengths behind stablemate Malathaat (Curlin), who nipped Blue Stripe (Equal Stripes {Arg}) and Clairiere. Malathaat clinched the older filly Eclipse Award with that performance. Pletcher said Nest had a less-than-ideal trip in the Distaff at Keeneland.
As scheduled, Nest was given the next few months off to recover from her eight-race, five-victory season. It turned out to be a much longer break than planned. Pletcher said that three hours after she made the cross-Florida trip from the farm in Ocala to his stable at Palm Beach Downs, she spiked a fever. She got in a three-furlong work Apr. 15, had another upper respiratory issue and did not breeze again until May 13 at Belmont Park.
“We missed a month,” Pletcher said. “She got a pretty good lung infection that took us a while to get under control. Our original plan was for maybe running the [Apr. 21 GIII] Doubledogdare at Keeneland or the [May 5 GI] La Troienne at Churchill as a prep for the [June 10 GI] Ogden Phipps. It took us too long to get ready, so here we are.”
Pletcher said he considered bringing Nest back in the GIII Molly Pitcher Saturday at Monmouth Park, but opted to ship her to Saratoga and walk her across Union Ave. to run in the Shuvee.
She worked nine times at Belmont Park before completing her preparation Sunday morning with a half-mile breeze in :50 in company over the Oklahoma training track.
After what was a routine pre-race work, Pletcher said the most impressive part of Nest's breeze happened after the timing ended in front of the clocker's stand.
“The gallop out,” he said. “She seems to keep going.”
Clairiere has been a top-notch homebred performer for Stonestreet Stables and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. She has won eight of 19 starts and earned $3.1 million. Last year she handled Malathaat in the Shuvee, but was never a factor while finishing last of five in the GI Personal Ensign S. This year, she was second to Secret Oath in the GII Azeri S. and has won the GI Apple Blossom H. and Ogden Phipps. Played Hard was third in the Phipps, her 10th straight top-three finish since October 2021.
Considering the probables listed by NYRA, the Shuvee is likely to go off with a small, high-quality field. Pletcher said it figures to be a tough test.
“We expect big things from her always,” he said. “It's a lot to ask of her, but she ran well in her debut at a mile and a sixteenth and she's basically run well pretty much every start of her career. Hopefully we've got her fit enough to perform well and this is the first step towards bigger goals.”
Pletcher said he has not noticed any significant changes in Nest this season.
“She was so good last year that it's hard to see,” he said. “I think the main thing is she's filled out a bit, maybe carrying a little more condition than she was last year.”
What Nest has shown Pletcher in training is the running style that made her so effective during her championship season.
“It's what makes most of the good ones good, kind of a high cruising speed and the ability to carry it over a distance of ground,” he said. “As you saw last year, she has that ability on the dirt to accelerate, really quicken, the last part of a race. A lot of times, horses just have to keep grinding away but as we saw in the Coaching Club and the Alabama last year, she can cruise and then quicken.”
A few minutes after the workout Sunday, Pletcher said that gear-changing move was on display.
“If you saw the end of the gallop-out there,” he said, “she was all of a sudden 10 lengths in front of the other horse.”
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