Malathaat, Search Results, Pauline's Pearl, Soothsay earn Kentucky Oaks tickets

Saturday was a banner day on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with four preps from coast to coast, each offering a 100-point bonanza to the winner. 

Search Results extended her perfect record to 3-for-3 in the $250,000 Gazelle S. (G2) at Aqueduct, springing to the top of the Oaks leaderboard with 150 points. Then Malathaat rallied in the nick of time to stay undefeated in the $400,000 Ashland S. (G1), and Pauline’s Pearl punched her Oaks ticket in the $600,000 Fantasy S. (G3) at Oaklawn Park. Debut winner Soothsay successfully stepped up in the $392,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2), but she is not a Kentucky Oaks nominee, and her plans are to be determined.

Malathaat was expected to make her sophomore debut in last Saturday’s Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2). But after the passing of owner Sheikh Hamdan on March 24, her Shadwell Stable connections preferred to wait another week out of respect, and trainer Todd Pletcher rerouted her to Keeneland.

Last seen braving the slop in the Dec. 5 Demoiselle (G2) at Aqueduct, Malathaat had to show her class and will to win again in sunny conditions here. The 3-2 chance was reserved several lengths off the moderate tempo set by Simply Ravishing, the slight favorite also at 3-2. 

On the far turn, Simply Ravishing gave way, and the stalking Pass the Champagne sliced between foes to take command in a sudden move. Malathaat was already being stoked up by Joel Rosario, and she responded to pursue the new leader. But Pass the Champagne had gotten quite a jump in the 1 1/16-mile race that ends at the first finish line, giving Malathaat less of a stretch run to close the gap.

It didn’t matter, for the daughter of Hall of Famer Curlin and Grade 1 star Dreaming of Julia gained with every ground-devouring stride. Heading Pass the Champagne on the wire, Malathaat clocked 1:42.94 to remain perfect in four starts and boost her bankroll to $412,150. She now has 110 Oaks points, including 10 from the Demoiselle. 

Pass the Champagne bagged 40 points in a terrific stakes and two-turn debut, finishing well clear of a strung-out field. Another 5 1/4 lengths back in third came Will’s Secret, adding 20 points to increase her tally to 80. Moon Swag’s 10 points for fourth now give her 22. Curlin’s Catch was a distant fifth, and Simply Ravishing trailed. 

Malathaat, bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings in Kentucky, was purchased for $1.05 million as a yearling at Keeneland September. 

Stonestreet later celebrated the Fantasy victory by homebred Pauline’s Pearl. A promising second in the Honeybee (G3) last out to Ashland-bound Will’s Secret, the 4-5 favorite got the job done here.

Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Ricardo Santana, Pauline’s Pearl settled in fourth behind the 8-1 frontrunner Ava’s Grace, advanced on the far turn, and stayed on relentlessly to prevail. The daughter of Tapit and Grade 1 winner Hot Dixie Chick drove a length clear, negotiating 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.64. Pauline’s Pearl increased her Oaks points to 120. 

Ava’s Grace saved second in her first route attempt, earning 40 points. Coach, who banked 20 points for her closing third, now sports 26 overall. Recent maiden winner Take Charge Lorin reported home fourth, worth 10 points. Sylvia Q and West Side Girl completed the order of finish, and Sun Path was scratched.

The Kentucky-bred Pauline’s Pearl has compiled a record of 5-2-1-1, $461,500. Dam Hot Dixie Chick is herself a half to 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. 

Klaravich Stables’ Search Results was dispatched as the 2-5 favorite after her victorious stakes debut in the March 6 Busher S. over Aqueduct’s one-turn mile. The Gazelle posed a distance question on the stretch-out to 1 1/8 miles, but the Chad Brown trainee stayed the trip.

Under Irad Ortiz, Search Results was perched right off pacesetter Alwayz Late, poised to strike at will. The moment came turning for home, and Search Results put the race away. Although clinging to her left lead down the lane, she was never seriously threatened by the closing Maracuja. 

Search Results was 2 3/4 lengths on top in a final time of 1:54.14. Adding 100 Oaks points to her prior 50 from the Busher, she has 150 in all to go along with $299,000 in earnings. 

Maracuja, who was making her two-turn and stakes debut, picked up 40 points as best of the rest. She is not nominated to the Oaks. Fellow stakes debutante Army Wife had trouble but still got up for third, good for 20 points. The winner’s stablemate, The Grass Is Blue, wound up fourth, and her 10-point haul bumped up her total to 30. Next came Alwayz Late and the eased Mia Martina. Hybrid Eclipse and Song of Innocence were scratched.

Bred by Machmer Hall in Kentucky, Search Results sold for $310,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The dark bay is by the A.P. Indy stallion Flatter and out of Grade 3-placed Co Cola, by Candy Ride. 

The Richard Mandella-trained Soothsay was coming off a rallying debut score in a six-furlong sprint on Feb. 26, so the Santa Anita Oaks represented both a class and distance hike. The daughter of Distorted Humor and the Bernardini mare Spellbound, who earned her signature win in the 2014 La Canada (G2) at this same track and 1 1/16-mile trip, rose to the challenge.

A cat-and-mouse game developed between the two favorites, as the 19-10 Moraz led from 9-10 Beautiful Gift early. Soothsay, the 4.20-1 third choice, initially eased back to last in the compact field of four. 

Approaching the far turn, jockey Flavien Prat cleverly seized an opportunity to sneak through on the inside, and Soothsay struck the front. Beautiful Gift counterattacked more effectively than Moraz, who could not maintain her position in the stretch. But Soothsay kept on stubbornly and repelled the odds-on favorite by a half-length in 1:44.35. 

Campaigned by Claiborne Farm, Perry Bass II, Ramona Bass, and Adele Dilschneider, Soothsay was bred by Raydelz Stable in Kentucky. The bay, from the family of 2018 Triple Crown champion Justify, has earned $276,600 as well as 100 Oaks points.

Beautiful Gift banked 40 more points, upping her account to 90 overall. Moraz held third, good for 20 points that nearly doubled her total to 42. Turf/synthetic performer Javanica didn’t handle dirt as effectively but still garnered 10 points after the only other entrant, Brilliant Cut, was withdrawn. Javanica has 14 points in her account, including her four as the runner-up versus males in the El Camino Real Derby on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.