LEXINGTON, Ky. – Godolphin’s homebred Matareya put away the pacesetting Lady Scarlet at the top of the stretch and drew off to score an 8 1⁄2-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 13⁄4 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.
Click here for a replay of the race and the post-race interview with winning connections.
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
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.”
Keeneland Press Release
Photo: Matareya (Coady Photography)
