Matareya tops Goodnight Olive, Wicked Halo in Derby City Distaff
It’s hard to look at a campaign that features a Grade 1 victory and only a single blemish and think there was opportunity missed. Yet, when Godolphin’s director of bloodstock Michael Banahan reflects on Matareya’s 2022 season, he doesn’t believe the daughter of Pioneerof the Nile got to show her best.
If the 4-year-old bay filly keeps throwing down efforts like the one she uncorked in the $750,000 Derby City Distaff (G1) at Churchill Downs on Saturday, there will no need for wondering what the Brad Cox trainee is capable of when facing her division’s elite.
Under textbook handling from jockey Flavien Prat, Godolphin homebred Matareya continued an exceptional 24-hour run for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s operation when she kicked clear in the lane to score a one-length victory over Wicked Halo in the seven-furlong Derby City Distaff, the first of nine stakes on Saturday’s Kentucky Day program.
Matareya’s resume since breaking her maiden at first asking at Ellis Park in August 2021 is one of a filly who hasn’t done a whole lot wrong in the sprint ranks. She started her 2022 season with four straight victories, including triumphs in the Eight Belles (G2) at Churchill Downs and Acorn (G1) at Belmont Park, before a third-place finish in the Test (G1) in August halted that streak.
The time off she needed after that defeat kept her out of the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, a race won by eventual Eclipse Award winner Goodnight Olive. Facing that champion and four others Saturday, Matareya announced herself once more as one her rivals will have to go through in the quest for divisional honors.
“Matareya is a tough, top-class filly. She’s a Grade 1-winning filly already and she won the Eight Belles last year, so we knew she likes the track here,” said Banahan, his voice hoarse from celebrating Pretty Mischievous’s victory in the Kentucky Oaks less than 24 hours earlier. “We were disappointed after Saratoga last year that we had to give her time off and miss the Breeders’ Cup. Hopefully we’ll get to the Breeders’ Cup this year with her because we feel like she is of that quality. She’s shown everyone how good she is.”
Matareya got her year started with a runner-up finish behind Wicked Halo in the six-furlong Matron Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 31. The fitness she gained that day showed itself as she sat a perfect stalking trip in second just off Travel Column’s hip through fractions of 22.07 and 44.50 seconds in the Derby City Distaff.
“We prepped at Oaklawn going three-quarters knowing that really wasn’t what she wanted to do, but she ran well there that day,” Cox said. “She’s very fast from the gate, but then they kind of get away from her sometimes. Flavien was able to hold his position against some very good fillies, and I think it paid off late with the position she had going up the backside.”
As Travel Column began to tire from her exploits, Matareya rolled up in the three path around the far turn and gained an advantage she would not relinquish. Wicked Halo mounted her own run on the outside down the stretch as Goodnight Olive struggled to find running room, but neither could seriously threaten late as Matareya crossed the wire in 1:21.87 over a track rated fast to reward those who backed her at 5-1 odds.
“Once we took the halter and shank off, her she got on her toes and it was good energy, not nervous energy, in the paddock,” Cox said. “When I walked out with her it was like, ‘wow she’s on it’. And she needed to be. This was a good group of fillies and a true Grade 1 race here.
“At the three-eighths pole and even at the quarter pole, when Flavien still had a hold of her, I thought, ‘You can’t get there any better than this, it’s up to her to get home.’ She really fought on and tried hard, very proud of the effort."
Wicked Halo held for second with 1-2 favorite Goodnight Olive third, ending a seven-race win streak for the reigning divisional champion.
“I was stuck, the entire way. I had no place to go,” said Irad Ortiz Jr., jockey of Goodnight Olive. “I couldn’t get out of there. I had tons of horse, just no place to go.”
Matareya returned $12.12, $4.96 and $2.32. Wicked Halo, with Tyler Gaffalione aboard, returned $4.34 and $2.16, and Goodnight Olive paid $2.10 to show.
In earning her second career Grade 1 win, Matareya improved her record to six wins from 11 starts with $1,517,217 in earnings.
