Malibu Prayer, Queen Martha top Molly Pitcher

Just a few minutes before Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro)

and the streaking Life at Ten (Malibu Moon) clash in Sunday's Personal Ensign S.

(G1) at Saratoga, it could be said that their "proxies" will square off in the

$300,000

Molly Pitcher S. (G2) at Monmouth. While that description doesn't perfectly

fit QUEEN MARTHA (Rahy), MALIBU PRAYER (Malibu Moon) or MILWAUKEE APPEAL

(Milwaukee Brew), it nevertheless reflects the connections that they have with

the Personal Ensign rivals.

Queen Martha offers the strongest link, for she ran a massive race against

Rachel Alexandra in the July 24 Lady's Secret S. at Monmouth -- in her dirt

debut, no less. After setting the pace, the Patrick Biancone filly was passed by

Rachel Alexandra, but refused to wilt. Queen Martha kept on relentlessly to

finish an honorable second. Not only did she make the Horse of the Year pull out

a bit more to assure her victory, but Queen Martha was herself 7 3/4 lengths

clear of third. Considering that the Lady's Secret was just her second start

back from an 11-month layoff, and only her seventh lifetime outing, it was

especially noteworthy. Queen Martha will keep Joe Bravo in the saddle for her

first graded stakes attempt.

Malibu Prayer, the 123-pound highweight, has come a long way since she was

crushed by Rachel Alexandra in last summer's Mother Goose S. (G1). Trained by

Todd Pletcher, she hails from the same barn as Life at Ten, but their paths have

not crossed on the track. Malibu Prayer concluded 2009 with scores in the Cat

Chat S. at Belmont and the Chilukki S. (G2) at Churchill Downs, and she comes

off a pair of good-looking wins. The bay romped in the June 26 Lighthouse S. at

this same track and 1 1/16-mile trip, then wired the August 1 Ruffian H. (G1) at

the Spa. Malibu Prayer will renew her acquaintance with Garrett Gomez, who

engineered her Lighthouse coup. She has drawn the rail post for the third

straight time.

Milwaukee Appeal, last year's Canadian champion three-year-old filly, was

most recently fourth to Life at Ten in the July 17 Delaware H. (G2). Winless

since last year's Woodbine Oaks, the Scott Fairlie trainee nonetheless tends to

place quite often. Last summer, Milwaukee Appeal just missed versus males in the

Queen's Plate S. and Prince of Wales S., and beat all but the super-impressive

Careless Jewel (Tapit) in the Alabama S. (G1). Her consistency has carried over

to this season, with minor awards in the Shuvee H. (G2) and Hill 'n' Dale S.

prior to narrowly losing third in the aforementioned Del 'Cap. Regular rider

Stewart Elliott will guide Milwaukee Appeal from the outside post 6.

JUST JENDA (Menifee), a distant third to Rachel Alexandra in last year's

Fantasy S. (G2), suffered her first career loss at Monmouth when third to Malibu

Prayer in the Lighthouse. Prior to that, the Larry and Cindy Jones colorbearer

had been three-for-three at the Jersey Shore, including a convincing win over

Malibu Prayer in the 2009 Monmouth Oaks (G3). Just Jenda has been firing bullets

in preparation for her rematch, and if Malibu Prayer and Queen Martha get

embroiled in an early duel, she could pick up the pieces with Terry Thompson.

Rounding out the sextet are STAGE TRICK (Distorted Humor), third in the Obeah

S. (G3) and a remote fourth in the Lady's Secret, and multiple Grade 2-placed

stakes veteran UNFORGOTTEN (Northern Afleet), who was a remote third to Zardana

(Brz) (Crimson Tide) and Rachel Alexandra in the New Orleans Ladies S. at Fair

Grounds four starts ago.

One race prior to the Molly Pitcher, 10 juvenile fillies will battle over a

grassy mile in the $100,000

Junior

Champion S. Prime contenders include recent Saratoga turf maiden winner ARCH

SUPPORT (Arch); Churchill turf maiden romper DOS LUNAS (Hennessy), who reverts

to grass after a flop in the sloppy Schuylerville S. (G3); the Kelly Breen duo

of SLEEPLESS DIXIE (Dixie Union) and A BRILLIANT IDEA (Afleet Alex); and the

maiden SYSTEM READY (More Than Ready) from the Pletcher barn.