Shuvee Stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Clairiere On Top in Shuvee Showdown

Stonestreet Stables' Clairiere (Curlin), forced to check in tight quarters at the top of the stretch, found running room along the rail and knew just what to do with it, outbattling Malathaat (Curlin) and Crazy Beautiful (Liam's Map) in a stirring stretch duel before pulling away to win the GII Shuvee S. by 1 1/2 lengths Sunday at Saratoga. Caught four wide into the first turn, Clairiere was last behind moderate splits in the compact four-horse field. Malathaat was moving up on the outside as Crazy Beautiful took over the lead nearing the stretch and Clairiere was forced to steady while attempting to rally between those two foes. She found a seam to run through along the rail in upper stretch, putting away first Crazy Beautiful and then Malathaat before drawing away for her second straight Grade I triumph, completing the nine furlongs in 1:51.96.

“She broke really well. There wasn't a lot of room between the three-eighths and the quarter-pole and I just had to be there because they were going really slow,” said winning rider Joel Rosario. “She responded really well when I asked her. She was there for me. I was always looking to see where there was room to go and it looked like it opened up inside, and I just had to go with that. She did great.”

Clairiere was eclipsed by Malathaat last year, when the 3-year-old filly champion bested her in four meetings, but the Stonestreet homebred has now beaten her rival in back-to-back starts after just getting her head in front in the June 11 GI Ogden Phipps S. Clairiere, winner of last year's GII Rachel Alexandra S. and GI Cotillion S., opened the year with an optional-claiming score at Fair Grounds in March and was second behind Letruska (Super Saver) in the Apr. 23 GI Apple Blossom H. before winning her second Grade I in the Ogden Phipps.

“She kept excellent company from fall of her 2-year-old year and her whole 3-year-old year,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen. “We sent her down to Stonestreet in Ocala to Ian Brennan off a fourth by three-quarters of a length in the [GI Breeders' Cup] Distaff. She got a little break. She went back in training down there and she came back in breezing more impressively than when she finished her 3-year-old year. I think her races have shown that.”

Of the rivalry with last year's GI Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat, Asmussen said, “We were near Malathaat in the Oaks in the paddock and [could see] how much bigger Malathaat was. Then we're next to her in the paddock here today, it's [noticeable] how comparable we are physically.”

Clairiere will now be aimed at the Aug. 27 GI Personal Ensign S.

“The Personal Ensign was the reason to be here,” Asmussen said. “She ran two solid races last year at Saratoga and we expect better this year.”

Todd Pletcher admitted he had concerns about the way Malathaat was heading to the track Sunday.

“I was very concerned leaving the paddock,” Pletcher said. “She came in super quiet. I don't know if she reacted adversely to the heat. She's normally a very classy mare and not really animated, but she was dull. She seemed to stay dull on the post parade and, for a horse adding first-time blinkers, it was just a very dull performance all the way around. I've never seen her that quiet in the paddock before.”

Pletcher continued, “It was the trip we wanted. We decided to come out and show some initiative, but he [John Velazquez] had to hustle her even to do that. And then we were hoping Joel would tuck in–we were in exactly the spot we wanted to be in, Johnny just said she put in one tenth of her normal effort.”

Pedigree Notes:

Clairiere is the first foal out of Cavorting, who recorded Saratoga victories in the 2015 GI Test S. and 2016 GI Personal Ensign S. The mare's second foal is stakes winner La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro). She has an unraced 2-year-old colt by Curlin named Judge Miller who was purchased for $550,000 by Muir Hut Stables at last year's Keeneland September sale. Barren to Quality Road in 2021, she was bred to Into Mischief this year.

Clairiere's second dam, Promenade Girl, who was twice Grade I placed, died this year. She left an Into Mischief weanling colt and an unraced 2-year-old colt by West Coast named East Side who worked four furlongs at Belmont Saturday in :48.47 (29/79).

Sunday, Saratoga
SHUVEE S.-GII, $186,000, Saratoga, 7-24, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8m, 1:51.96, ft.
1–CLAIRIERE, 124, f, 4, by Curlin
                1st Dam: Cavorting (MGISW, $2,063,000), by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Promenade Girl, by Carson City
                3rd Dam: Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony
O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $110,000. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 14-6-4-2, $1,909,592. *1/2 to La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro), SW, $159,460. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
2–Malathaat, 124, f, 4, Curlin–Dreaming of Julia, by A.P. Indy. ($1,050,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Shadwell Stable; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. $40,000.
3–Crazy Beautiful, 124, f, 4, Liam's Map–Indian Burn, by Indian Charlie. ($250,000 Ylg '19 FTKOCT). 'TDN Rising Star' O-Phoenix Thoroughbred III; B-Carolyn R Vogel (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $24,000.
Margins: 1HF, 1 3/4, 15HF. Odds: 1.50, 0.60, 8.80.
Also Ran: Exotic West.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Malathaat Works for Shuvee

Shadwell Stable's Malathaat (Curlin), who came up just a head short of Clairiere (Curlin) when second in the June 11 GI Ogden Phipps S. last time out, tuned up for the July 24 GII Shuvee S. with a four-furlong work in :49.22 (44/113) in company Sunday at Saratoga.

Last year's GI Kentucky Oaks winner and champion 3-year-old filly, who has won seven of 10 lifetime starts, will be adding blinkers for her third start of the year next Sunday.

“She seems a little more locked in and a little more concentrated,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “She's trained great up to this race and we're looking forward to seeing how she adapts to the equipment change.”

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Royal Flag Drives Late To Take Shuvee At Saratoga

Second to Letruska in the 2020 edition, Royal Flag came flying late to take the Grade 3 Shuvee at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Chad Brown trainee capitalized on a steady early pace, sprinting by Horologist and Crystal Ball in the race's final strides to win by three-quarters of a length.

Breaking from the outside post in a field of seven, Joel Rosario settled Royal Flag at the back of the field around the first turn and into the backstretch as Horologist set early fractions of :23.35 for the first quarter and :47.01 for the half-mile. Trained by Bill Mott, Horologist looked like she might take the field wire to wire as she kept the lead around the final turn into the stretch.

Behind her, Royal Flag was twelve lengths back, Rosario steadying his mare after going wide around the final turn. Down the Saratoga straight, Horologist still led by a half-length, with Gold Spirit, Crystal Ball, and Dunbar Road in pursuit, Royal Flag driving down the center of the track. Will Farish's 5-year-old mare was the fastest of them all in the end, passing Horologist and Crystal Ball to take the G3 Shuvee. The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.42.

Find this race's chart here.

Royal Flag paid $5.30, $3.10, and $2.40. Horologist paid $5.10 and $3.40. Crystal Ball paid $3.40 to show.

“She was able to get up in time. She was quite far back turning for home. I was very proud of her effort. She showed that she has a lot of heart. She might not have run a lot of times in her career, but every time she shows up.” Trainer Chad Brown said after the race. “I don't know if she likes time in between races or something always happens that requires us to give her time. This is her last season racing so hopefully we can give her a more consistent campaign now and get a few starts into her before she's retired.”

“Chad told me that to stay out was probably the best. I was just following his other horse [Dunbar Road]. I just wanted to have a clean run when I started moving.” Joel Rosario told the NYRA Communications Office after the G3 Shuvee. “When she started moving in the last turn and then with the stride that she has; I was not even asking for everything yet, so I felt she was going to run really big.”

Bred and owned by Will Farish, Royal Flag is by Candy Ride out of the Mineshaft mare Sea Gull. In her second start of 2021, the 5-year-old mare gets her first win of the year after finishing second to Bonny South in the Grade 3 Doubledogdare at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., on April 16. With her Shuvee win, the daughter of Candy Ride has five wins in ten lifetime starts for career earnings of $375,520.

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Swiss Skydiver to Target Whitney

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) is headed for the GI Whitney S., trainer Kenny McPeek said Wednesday.

McPeek said that the EHV-1 quarantine that has affected his barn at Saratoga prompted him to reschedule his plans for Peter Callaghan's 4-year-old filly, the winner of the 2020 Preakness against colts. She was originally scheduled to run in the GIII $200,000 Shuvee this Sunday, but the quarantine in his barn has prevented him from entering any horses at Saratoga.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) have placed Barn 86 at Saratoga Race Course under a precautionary quarantine until further notice due to a positive case of Equine Herpesvirus-1 in that barn.

The unnamed, unraced filly, who is trained by Jorge Abreu, was sent to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital on Sunday, July 11 after developing a fever. She was subsequently tested for a number of potential ailments, and a positive test for EHV-1 was returned on Thursday afternoon. The filly began treatment immediately, and is improving under the care of Dr. Luis Castro, DVM.

The New York Racing Association has announced that during the length of the 21-day quarantine, retroactive to July 11, no horses can train with the generation population or enter races. The quarantine is scheduled to run through August 1, should no additional horses test positive, which is standard protocol in New York.

“There might be a silver lining to this after all,” said McPeek, indicating that the $1 million Whitney at nine furlongs is a good fit for her, and that she is training very well. She won the 2020 Alabama at Saratoga.

This story will be updated.

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