‘It was just inches.’ Three-horse photo finish decides thrilling Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

You can breathe now. Malathaat’s nose got there first.

The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Saturday boiled down to what was looking like a done deal between Blue Stripe and Clairiere just before the wire, with the only question whose nose would drop down first across the line to claim the race.

Then Malathaat swooped in outside the two of them, an eagle honing in on a fish. Malathaat grabbed the prize at the last possible second from Blue Stripe, by the least-possible margin.

If that was not enough suspense — an outcome that called for the photo-finish camera to prove Malathaat the winner of the 1 1/16 miles by a nose — still another nostril came into play: that of Clairiere, finishing third by that margin behind Blue Stripe.

Was anyone still breathing? These are the finishes race fans live for but don’t often see: three across the track with the human eye unable to distinguish confidently who’s actually in front when it counts the most.

It was that kind of day Saturday at Keeneland, only the third time the Breeders’ Cup World Championships have rotated to Lexington in 39 years of the event. This time around, the thrills just kept on coming for winning owner Shadwell Stable, trainer Todd Pletcher, and jockey John Velazquez.

Malathaat’s winning the Distaff undoubtedly will assure her an Eclipse Award and championship in the older female dirt division.

But about those close finishes, and Malathaat has had a few when winning — and running second: Pletcher joked that he had a word for Velazquez after this one.

“I was kidding him, I said, don’t cut those so close. I’m too old for those type of finishes these days.”

The addition of blinkers to Malathaat’s equipment undoubtedly played a significant role in keeping her momentum going close to the wire Saturday. Pletcher said they’d been thinking about adding blinkers since the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin’s 2-year-old season but with the filly winning as often as she did, they were hesitant to change anything.

“She sees everything,” Pletcher said, describing her as a curious filly. “And she has a tendency to wait when she makes the lead.”

The moment that finally made them change was the Ogden Phipps Stakes in June at Belmont, a race in which Malathaat ran second to Clairiere, losing by only a head. As Pletcher recalled, Velazquez told him the filly saw something near the finish “and tapped on the brakes.”

The jockey said, “We’ve got to do it.” And they did. They know now they made the right choice.

Clairiere and Malathaat have met several times but the Distaff was the crowning race for the pair, as well as for second-placed Blue Stripe.

“It was just inches … inches,” said Clairiere’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, who also saddled seventh-place Society in the field of eight.

Clairiere had come from last in the Distaff field to inch her way forward, gaining ground on the rail through the stretch for jockey Joel

Rosario.

But races sometimes come down to inches — win or lose.

Blue Stripe had raced more forwardly placed in the first quarter-mile under jockey Hector Berrios, then dropped back on the backstretch before kicking into position, running up to second at the top of the stretch behind the narrow leader at that point, Secret Oath.

Malathaat also was making her way forward from second-last at the half-mile call, then to sixth around the final turn and fifth at the top of the stretch.

If anyone thought her the eventual winner at that point, they either had to be dreaming — or keeping the faith. But surprise, surprise, and with her blinkers keeping her focused, Malathaat powered past every horse in front of her until the uh-oh moment when she loomed as the party spoiler to the pair in front when they were almost at the finish.

“I thought we were going to get there,” said Rosario, riding Clairiere.

Destiny said they were not.

Fourth-placed Nest went postward the $1.48 to $1 favorite but her jockey, Irad Ortiz, said he had to use her too much too soon to get her in position. She had not left the gate well and when Nest did kick in for Ortiz, the others, according to her jockey, ran her down.

Malathaat was second choice to Nest, at $2.88 to $1, so she was not a surprise winner.

Only her manner of winning posed a surprise.

She was “fully extended,” according to the Equibase official chart comments, a story that told how hard she had to run to gain the win from Blue Stripe and Clairiere.

The order of finish behind the top three, and fourth-placed Nest, was Secret Oath, Search Results, Society, and Awake At Midnyte.

This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 7:32 PM.