Midnight Bisou Adds Beldame Win to Her Credentials
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Joe Labozzetta
Midnight Bisou wins the Beldame Stakes at Belmont Park
It was the perfect prep in the midst of a perfect season.
Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, and Allen Racing's Midnight Bisou cemented her status as the one to beat in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) and enhanced her position as a main Horse of the Year contender as she rolled to a 3 1/4-length victory in the $291,000 Beldame Stakes (G2) for fillies and mares Sept. 28 at Belmont Park.
In terms of statistics, the victory was the seventh in as many 2019 starts for the 4-year-old daughter of Midnight Lute who was second behind Bricks and Mortar in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association Top 10 poll.
It was also exactly what her owners and trainer Steve Asmussen were looking for in advance of the World Championships at Santa Anita Park.
"It was perfect," owner Jeff Bloom said. "We had talked about this right after Saratoga (when she won the grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes by a nose over Elate Aug. 24). Certain horses take care of themselves on the racetrack, and there's never been a time when we had to make a detour with her. We felt she loves this track. It's her third impressive win over this racetrack (in three starts), and the timing was good to shift to here from Saratoga and then fly out to California."
As for which Breeders' Cup race, Bloom is sticking with his plan to run in the 1 1/8-mile, $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff instead of challenging males in the 1 1/4-mile, $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
At first after the race, he threw the door open to running in the Classic.
"There's a temptation to do it with everybody asking me that every day," Bloom said. "They might be on to something."
Then he quickly closed the door.
"She's done everything we've wanted her to do this year, and that started with (targeting) the Breeders' Cup Distaff and working back. So at this point, the logical thing is to follow that path and take down that division with a perfect year. We'll focus on the Distaff. It's the last target for us. There hasn't been a lot of thought given to the Classic," Bloom said.
In Bloom's mind, should Midnight Bisou win the Distaff, with a body of work that dates to January and an 8-for-8 mark in graded stakes company, that would make her an attractive Horse of the Year possibility.
"When I reflect that this horse started in January and this is her seventh stakes win on the year, very few horses do that," Bloom said. "She's had some epic battles with arguably the toughest fillies and mares in the country and answered the call each time. My objective opinion is that if she wins out, certainly if I was a voter, I'd put her right on top."
In the Beldame, Midnight Bisou started out second behind pace-setting longshot Spring in the Wind from Ron Paolucci Racing as jockey John Velazquez held the 1-9 favorite's speed in reserve. On the turn, the race became interesting when Peter Brant and Stud Vendaval's Wow Cat, the 2-1 second choice, joined the trio at the quarter pole.
As Spring in the Wind faded to last in the field of five, it appeared at the top of the stretch that the stage was set for an interesting duel between Midnight Bisou and the 5-year-old Lookin At Lucky mare who finished ahead of her in last year's Distaff when they were second and third.
But the stunning difference in Midnight Bisou from 3 to 4 came to the fore in the stretch as she pulled away from Wow Cat to win decisively while covering the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.86.
"It was pretty easy for her," said Velazquez, who subbed for regular rider Mike Smith. "I didn't have to do very much."
Wow Cat finished 5 1/4 lengths ahead of Barry Ostrager's Crimson Frost, who was third.
The win was the 12th in 18 starts for Midnight Bisou, who has earned $3.41 million. She was bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds out of the Repent mare Diva Delite and sold for $80,000 from its consignment at the 2017 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.