(Matareya / Coady Photography)

From the Keeneland Media Team:

Godolphin’s homebred Matareya put away the pacesetting Lady Scarlet at the top of the stretch and drew off to score an 8½-length victory in the 37th running of the $400,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select for 3-year-old fillies Sunday afternoon.

Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat, Matareya completed the Beard Course of 7 furlongs, 184 feet over a fast track in 1:27.55. It is the first victory in the Beaumont for Cox and Prat.

It is the second stakes victory of the opening weekend of the 15-day Spring Meet for Cox and the third for Prat.

Matareya grabbed the lead at the start, but Lady Scarlet pushed through on the inside to lead the field through fractions of :22.87 and :46.61.

On the far turn, Matareya began to creep closer and drew on even terms at the top of the stretch at which point Prat took a quick peek over his right shoulder to see if any pursuers were coming.

No pursuers were coming, and Matareya and Prat had an unpressured run to the wire.

The victory was worth $241,800 and increased Matareya’s earnings to $374,267 with a record of 6-3-2-0. Matareya is a Kentucky-bred daughter of Pioneerof the Nile out of the Bernardini mare Innovative Idea.

Matareya returned $4.20, $2.60 and $2.40. Radio Days, ridden by Joel Rosario, returned $3.40 and $3 and finished 1¾ lengths ahead of Reagan’s Decision, who paid $4.60 to show under Luis Saez.

Lady Scarlet finished another three-quarters of a length back in fourth and was followed in order by Majestic d’Oro, Gina Romantica and Chi Town Lady.

 

(Slipstream inches up rail to nip Twilight Gleaming in the Palisades Stakes / Coady Photography)

Slipstream surges past Twilight Gleaming (IRE) to win Palisades

Jump Sucker Stable’s Slipstream took the inside route to slip past favored Twilight Gleaming (IRE) inside the eighth pole and posted a three-quarters of a length victory in the third running of the $200,000 Palisades (L) for 3-year-olds.

Trained by Christophe Clement and ridden by Joel Rosario, Slipstream covered the 5½ furlongs on a turf course rated as good in 1:02.80. Rosario also won last year’s running aboard Chasing Artie.

Making her first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) at Del Mar, Twilight Gleaming quickly opened a clear advantage and led the field of seven through fractions of :22.17 and :45.73 as Slipstream raced at the back of the field.

At the head of the stretch, Twilight Gleaming drifted out toward the middle of the course while Slipstream found a seam between the rail and Pure Panic and surged through for a clear shot at the leader that proved to be the winning move.

Winner of the Futurity (G3) last fall at Belmont Park and sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), Slipstream is a Kentucky-bred son of More Than Ready out of the Stormy Atlantic mare Cake Baby.

The victory was worth $120,900 to the Keeneland sales graduate and increased Slipstream’s earnings to $288,500 with a record of 6-3-0-1.

Slipstream returned $7.40, $3 and $2.60. Twilight Gleaming returned $2.40 and $2.20 with Pure Panic finishing another 5½ lengths back in third and paying $5.40 to show under Adam Beschizza.

It was another 1¼ lengths back to Circle Back Jack in fourth with No Nay Franklin (IRE), Classicstateofmind and Baytown Frosty following in order.

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Racing resumes Wednesday with an eight-race program that begins at 1 p.m. ET.

Quotes from the $400,000 Beaumont (G3) Presented by Keeneland Select

Click here for a replay of the race and the post-race interview with winning connections.


Flavien Prat (winning rider of Matareya)

“She broke really well and rated nice. I was on cruise control all the way around. (Trainer) Brad (Cox) told me this morning that he really liked her, and he was right.”

On his success during opening weekend of Keeneland’s Spring Meet, when he won seven races, including three stakes

“To be honest, I was hoping to win a few races but it’s been great. Just really pleased with the weekend.”

Brad Cox (winning trainer)

On what precipitated Matareya’s improvement as a 3-year-old

“I’d have to say the cutback (in distance of her races). We were hoping she’d go long. She trained like she would. Flavien made the comment that he didn’t see why she wouldn’t. But she’s kind of shown us she enjoys the cutback, so we’ll probably stick to one turn for now.”

On whether the Eight Belles (G2) at Churchill Downs or the Test (G1) at Saratoga might be under consideration for future races

“We obviously picked up a Grade 3 today. It’s huge for the pedigree (Pioneerof the Nile-Innovative Idea, by Bernardini) and huge for the broodmare band at (breeder/owner) Godolphin, which is one of the best in the world. It was a big win, so we’ll let the dust settle and see how she comes out of it, but those are obviously races we’ll look forward to and try to work back from, and – who knows? – maybe try to get her to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) here at Keeneland this fall.”

Joel Rosario (rider of runner-up Radio Days)

“She broke OK, and then I just took my time with her. I took her inside for a little bit, and she handled everything well and kept running. She tried hard and came with a little bit of a run so I’m happy with that.”

Luis Saez (rider of third-place finisher Reagan’s Decision)

“She broke pretty well, and we were in a great spot. The winner was too good. I thought we could beat her after a half mile, but she was just too good. When I saw the winner gone (to a big lead), I thought we could be second but the other one (Radio Days) came flying. My filly tried hard.”

Quotes from the $200,000 Palisades (L)

Click here for a replay of the race and the post-race interview with winning connections.


Joel Rosario (winning rider of Slipstream)

On how the race developed into the turn

“It seemed like he was fine with it. All the time I was just trying to improve my position, and he did. He was the best horse in the race.”

On seeing favored filly Twilight Gleaming [IRE] in the center of the course in the stretch

“I saw that and just tried to stay inside her, and hopefully his (Slipstream’s) best would come at the end and it did.”

Ben Colebrook (representing winning trainer Christophe Clement, who shipped Slipstream into Colebrook’s Keeneland barn)

On what Clement told him when Slipstream arrived

“He just said (Slipstream) was doing really well. (The colt) shipped in Friday and (Clement) said just to baby him until the race. We just jogged and schooled him. It was uneventful.”

On watching the race unfold from a trainer’s perspective

“(Jockey Joel Rosario) looked like he was loaded with horse. It was just whether he was going to get out, and right when you think that, it opened up and he just exploded through that hole. It was impressive and Joel did a great job.”

Irad Ortiz Jr. (rider of runner-up and favorite Twilight Gleaming [IRE], the lone filly in the race)

“I had a good trip. She always tries to drift a little bit in the stretch, but I did not want to fight her. I just let her be happy and kept riding and just got caught. I could feel (the winner) coming, but I could not fight with my filly. I just wanted her to keep moving forward.”

Wesley Ward (trainer of Twilight Gleaming)

“We will probably run one more time at Churchill (in the Mamzelle-L on May 14) before we decide about going to Ascot. We will make a decision after that. We ran as good as we could – no excuses.”

Adam Beschizza (rider of third-place finisher Pure Panic)

“He got a good trip. To be honest, I think the winner’s probably a Breeders’ Cup horse. He was a long shot. I was never going to get him (the winner). I was about 10 lengths back. There was a pretty big gap between me and second and the winner, but that’s probably the class difference. He ran good.