Midnight Bisou Edges Elate in Personal Ensign
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Midnight Bisou (outside) nips Elate at the wire in the Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
There are times when equine matchups like Elate vs. Midnight Bisou fail to live up to the hype.
Especially in a setting like Saratoga Race Course, where championship dreams can quickly come to an end.
Yet on the afternoon of the 150th edition of the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), the two distaff stars put on a show as good as two horses possibly could as they hit the wire together at the end of the nine furlongs in the $651,000 Personal Ensign Stakes Presented by Lia Infiniti (G1) Aug. 24 at the Spa.
As onlookers collectively held their breath and waited for the photo finish camera to decide the winner, Jeff Bloom, one of Midnight Bisou's owners, was putting on a brave front—but his stomach was moving around like a roller coaster.
"I passed out internally three times waiting for the photo," said Bloom, whose Bloom Racing Stable owns Midnight Bisou along with Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables and Allen Racing. "I thought she got the bob, because this filly knows how to win."
Indeed, she does.
As much as multiple grade 1 winner Elate and jockey Jose Ortiz seemed headed for victory after forging to the front at the top of the lane, Midnight Bisou and jockey Mike Smith moved up from last in the field of six and launched a furious stretch drive to come within a head of Elate at the eighth pole.
"It was unbelievably exciting," said Steve Asmussen, who trains Midnight Bisou. "They both came into the stretch with a lot of horse. You could tell how confident Jose was when he came into the stretch, and you knew they were going to lock up."
What happened in that final furlong merits inclusion in a time capsule as Midnight Bisou, a 4-year-old Midnight Lute filly, and Elate, a homebred 5-year-old Medaglia d'Oro mare, courageously battled to the wire, with Elate seeming to hold an edge until the last stride, when Midnight Bisou prevailed by a slim nose.
"It was a fight to get by Elate. She's a champion in her own right," said Smith, who dedicated the win to Carmen Barrera, the New York Racing's Association's longtime director of horsemen's relations who passed away this month. "With the extra pounds (Midnight Bisou gave Elate four pounds), it took a bit to get her going, but when she did, I was happy I had the mile and an eighth."
As Asmussen put it, "It's immeasurable class. It filled a lot of check marks on her list."
The Personal Ensign marked the sixth straight win for Midnight Bisou since a third-place finish in the 2018 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) and her third win over Elate. Asmussen's filly beat Elate in the Azeri Stakes (G2) and Apple Blossom Handicap (G1), both at Oaklawn Park.
For Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Elate, in her past four starts at the Spa for trainer Bill Mott she has suffered three agonizing losses by a head, neck, and nose. She also won the 2017 Alabama Stakes (G1) by 5 1/2 lengths, perhaps explaining why she was the 4-5 favorite in the Personal Ensign over Midnight Bisou (8-5, $5.40), who was winless in two starts at Saratoga.
"The two speed horses that we figured would be in front of us were in front of us, but we weren't head and head with them," said Mott, who walked over to the winner's circle to shake Asmussen's hand after the race. "It gave us a good target. Midnight Bisou had to come over ground that we had already been over. I don't see any big excuse right now. It was a good race. One jump before the wire we were a head in front. Maybe we'll have to keep her in training another year and try again. But she ran great. Both the top two fillies ran great."
Elate had 8 3/4 lengths on She's a Julie, who was third.
While her victory in 1:47.92 on the fast track earned Midnight Bisou a "Win and You're In" free spot in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, there could be another Breeders' Cup race in the filly's future. With an Eclipse Award as the best older female locked up, Bloom would not close the door on tackling the boys at the end of the year in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and making a determined run at Horse of the Year honors.
"I get asked that all the time," Bloom said about facing the boys. "At this point, we're going to the Breeders' Cup. What race that is, the obvious one is the Distaff. But at the same time, I wouldn't rule out an opportunity to run against the boys. That's 100% a conversation with Steve, (assistant trainer Scot Blasi), and the rest of the guys. What I do know is that she's an exceptional filly, and it's a dream ride she's taken us on.
"I've been around a lot of good fillies, but there's something good and unique about this filly. Her personality and demeanor. Her ability to take care of herself and her will to win. Because we all know if she doesn't have that will to win, she's not going to win the races that she does. I've been in this game my whole life, and this is crazy what she's done for us. Not a day goes by that I don't pinch myself and think about how lucky I am."
Bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds out of the grade 3-winning Repent mare Diva Delite, Midnight Bisou was bought by Bloom for $80,000 at the 2017 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training out of Woodford's consignment. With 11 wins, three seconds, and three thirds in 17 starts, she has earned $3,245,000. Her dam has a Wicked Strong yearling filly, foaled a Pioneerof the Nile colt May 1, and was bred to Justify for 2020.