Midnight Bisou, Serengeti Empress Work at Fair Grounds

Eclipse Award finalists Midnight Bisou and Serengeti Empress breezed at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots the morning of Jan. 5. The former worked toward a start on the international stage, while the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner returned to the work tab for the first time since the Breeders' Cup.

Both made their most recent starts in the Nov. 2 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Midnight Bisou and Serengeti Empress finished second and third, respectively, behind Blue Prize.

Sunday marked Midnight Bisou's third work at Fair Grounds since the Distaff. The 5-year-old Midnight Lute  mare trained by Steve Asmussen breezed five furlongs in 1:02 1/5. The $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh Feb. 29 is her target.

"(It was) picture perfect," said Jeff Bloom, managing director of Bloom Racing Stable, which campaigns Midnight Bisou with Madaket Stables and Allen Racing. "I talked to (assistant) Scott Blasi, and he couldn't be happier with how well she's training and how happy she is."

The move followed two half-mile works in December in which Midnight Bisou went :53 3/5 Dec. 19 and :49 1/5 Dec. 29. Bloom said the mare remained with Asmussen after the Breeders' Cup and received a break when she briefly returned to Churchill Downs before moving to Fair Grounds and warmer weather.

The mare's connections are also gearing up for the Jan. 23 Eclipse Awards at Gulfstream Park. Midnight Bisou was undefeated in seven consecutive starts in 2019—all graded stakes—before the Breeders' Cup. Three of those races—the Apple Blossom Handicap, Ogden Phipps Stakes, and Personal Ensign Stakes Presented by Lia Infiniti—were grade 1s. The campaign left Midnight Bisou with a promising chance to be crowned older dirt female champion.

"It's pretty exciting when you look back on what an incredible campaign she had, what an amazing year, and how much fun we all had," Bloom said. "With the season getting ready to kick off right around the time of the Eclipse Awards, it's all very fun."

Midnight Bisou was entered in The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's premier breeding stock sale in Lexington, but Bloom announced the morning of the Distaff she would scratch from the auction and race in 2020.

"She's one of those horses the fans can definitely rally around," Bloom said. "She goes out there, she does her job. She just relishes the opportunity to go out there and train and run in those races. It's just so much fun to be a part of."

Serengeti Empress Returns to Work Tab

Joel Politi's Serengeti Empress, an Eclipse Award finalist in the 3-year-old filly category, worked a half-mile Sunday morning in :49 flat under exercise rider Gilbert Concha.

Trainer Tom Amoss said the breeze was designed to be "a bit of an audible."

"We went three-eighths (of a mile) by design with an option to go an extra eighth past the finish line if she showed a lot of energy and fitness," Amoss said. "It was her first work since the Breeders' Cup. She did finish with a great deal of energy, so we went out another eighth. It was a work that was designed to be even three-eighths or a half-mile depending on what kind of fitness she showed. She showed good fitness and ended up going a half-mile."

Amoss said he believes Serengeti Empress will be ready to race by the end of January. Possible spots include the older filly and mare program at Oaklawn Park or the Jan. 26 Houston Ladies Classic (G3) at Sam Houston Race Park.

"Nothing will be decided until she works back next week and we get a better standing of where we are on fitness," he added.

Serengeti Empress showed talent as a 2-year-old by winning the Ellis Park Debutante Stakes by 13 1/2 lengths and the Pocahontas Stakes (G2) by 19 1/2 lengths. At 3, she won the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds two starts before her frontrunning Kentucky Oaks victory. The speedy filly also ran second in the one-mile Acorn Stakes (G1) and the seven-furlong Longines Test Stakes (G1), in which she was beaten a half-length by eventual Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) winner Covfefe.

Following the Breeders' Cup, Serengeti Empress received time off at GoldMark Farm in Ocala, Fla., before returning to Amoss at Fair Grounds.

"She's done very well. She carried her form with her all last year, all the way through the Breeders' Cup," Amoss said. "The time off was simply because we knew we were going to have a strong 2020 campaign, and she's come back well."

Amoss plans to start the filly's 2020 campaign with a focus on two-turn races.

"I think we're going to initially for sure concentrate on allowing her to use her speed going long, two turns," he said. "Eventually, our targets are going to be the bigger races at Oaklawn. There's really not a program for her at Fair Grounds."