Midnight Bisou Heads Home to Finish 2020 Stateside
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Photo: Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia/Neville Hopwood
Midnight Bisou (inside) comes up just shy of Maximum Security to finish second in the Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racetrack
After a gallant runner-up finish against some of the world's best horses in the $20 million Saudi Cup, the 5-year-old mare Midnight Bisou will be heading home March 6 to prepare for a domestic campaign that will use the Breeders' Cup as a bookend.
Owner Jeff Bloom confirmed those plans March 3 following a Daily Racing Form report that Midnight Bisou as well as Saudi Cup winner Maximum Security and 11th-place finisher McKinzie will be heading back to the U.S., while Mucho Gusto (fourth in the Saudi Cup) and Tacitus (fifth) will remain in the Middle East to train toward a start in the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) March 28 at Meydan Racecourse.
"She ran such an incredibly big race and the other race (in Dubai) comes up a little quick," said Bloom, who owns the daughter of Midnight Lute along with Madaket Stables and Allen Racing. "It's a timing thing. We can get her back home after being on the road for a while and thought it would be best to get her settled down and geared up for a 2020 season here where she can be home and hopefully have another championship season."
The champion older dirt filly of 2019, Midnight Bisou rallied strongly along the rail in the Feb. 29 Saudi Cup to finish within three-quarters-of-a-length of Maximum Security while facing males for the first time in her 20-race career. She was two lengths ahead of Godolphin's Benbatl who was third in a field of 14 filled with international stars.
In earning $3.5 million for her second-place finish, Midnight Bisou moved her career earnings to $7.25 million.
Bloom said he would meet with trainer Steve Asmussen after Midnight Bisou returns to the U.S. for a campaign in which all options are on the table.
"At this point, we want to get her back home and settled," Bloom said. "Then we'll look at the Breeders' Cup and work backwards from there. Steve and I decided when she gets back here we'll sit down and put another map together that puts her in an opportunity to do the things she does the right way. Right now we don't have a very specific race and targets planned but it will be easy to put one together. We won't rule out anything. Anything is open for discussion."