Monomoy Girl, Swiss Skydiver to Clash in BC Distaff

The apparent top older dirt mare in the country meets the nation's leading 3-year-old filly in the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland Nov. 7. Put simply, it is a Monomoy Girl vs. Swiss Skydiver showdown.

Monomoy Girl, the champion 3-year-old dirt filly of 2018 and the winner of the Distaff and Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) that year, looks to clinch her second championship with a victory in the Distaff, while Swiss Skydiver aims for her first divisional honor. Having beaten the boys in the Preakness Stakes (G1), following in the footsteps of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, she appears on her way.

Though they are far from the only high-class fillies and mares in the 1 1/8-mile race—Ce Ce, Dunbar Road, Horologist, Harvest Moon, Ollie's Candy, and Valiance are just some of those opposing them— it is not difficult to envision a stretch run between Monomoy Girl and Swiss Skydiver.

"It would be a really good matchup from the standpoint of being a fan, and I am a fan of racing. I think it would be a tremendous matchup, and I'm looking forward to it," said Monomoy Girl's trainer, Brad Cox.

They might not meet again after the Distaff. Five-year-old Monomoy Girl is entered in The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's breeding stock sale, which takes place the day after the race. If her owners—Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin's Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables—go through with the sale and don't buy her back, a purchaser could retire her from racing and breed her.

"I think a lot is going to hinge on what happens Breeders' Cup Day," Cox said.

Regular jockey Florent Geroux returns aboard Monomoy Girl, who captured the La Troienne Stakes Presented by Oak Grove Racing and Gaming (G1) Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs in her most recent start. 

The daughter of Tapizar  is 12-for-14 over her career and 3-for-3 in 2020. In her only start at Keeneland, she won the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) by 5 1/2 lengths in April 2018, giving Cox his first grade 1. 

The trainer has added 14 top-level wins since, including three Breeders' Cup victories with three champions. Besides Monomoy Girl's victory in the 2018 Distaff, he won the 2019 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) with Covfefe and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies with British Idiom. Cox is 3-for-12 in the Breeders' Cup.

In an era when many horses are lightly raced, Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver is a throwback. She has started nine times this year, each at a different racetrack, winning graded stakes in Florida, California, Arkansas, New York, and Maryland. Besides her win in the Preakness, other achievements for the Daredevil  filly include a victory in the Alabama Stakes (G1) and runner-up finishes in the Oaks and Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2).

"Here we are going on race 10, and she just seems to love what she does," trainer Kenny McPeek said. "So it's a really special filly to be around."

With multiple Breeders' Cup starters this year, led by Swiss Skydiver and Juvenile Fillies (G1) contender Simply Ravishing, McPeek has a good chance to pick up his first victory in the World Championships. He is 0-for-31 in the Breeders' Cup, an unlucky streak during which more than half of his starters (16) hit the board.

Jockey Robby Albarado is back in the irons on Swiss Skydiver. The veteran jockey decisively urged Swiss Skydiver forward to pass Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Authentic late on the backstretch in the Preakness, and she eked out a neck victory in a stretch duel.

"He had every opportunity to get by her, and he couldn't. She wouldn't let him, wouldn't let him get by," Albarado said.

Weeks after the race, Albarado still savors the victory, as he suspects others do.

"She not only thrilled us, but she thrilled the whole country at a time when I think horse racing kind of needed it," he said.

Beyond the two favorites, double-digit odds are likely for many of the Distaff competitors, even those who come into the race in career-best form.

Harvest Moon, a 3-year-old Uncle Mo  filly, has won four in a row, including two consecutive graded events, capped by the Zenyatta Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park Sept. 27; Valiance and Ollie's Candy ran 1-2 in the Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) on the Keeneland main track Oct. 4; and Horologist has won two of three graded starts since joining the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Horologist, who has recorded Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or more in her two recent victories, was supplemented for $100,000 to become Breeders' Cup-eligible.

Entries: Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1)

Keeneland, Saturday, November 07, 2020, Race 10

• Grade I
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $2,000,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 3:54 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Ce Ce (KY)	John R. Velazquez	124	Michael W. McCarthy	12/1
2	2Harvest Moon (KY)	Flavien Prat	121	Simon Callaghan	12/1
3	3Dunbar Road (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	124	Chad C. Brown	12/1
4	4Horologist (NJ)	Junior Alvarado	124	William I. Mott	8/1
5	5Swiss Skydiver (KY)	Robby Albarado	121	Kenneth G. McPeek	2/1
6	6Lady Kate (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	124	Eddie Kenneally	15/1
7	7Point of Honor (KY)	Javier Castellano	124	George Weaver	30/1
8	8Valiance (KY)	Luis Saez	124	Todd A. Pletcher	12/1
9	9Ollie's Candy (KY)	Joel Rosario	124	John W. Sadler	10/1
10	10Monomoy Girl (KY)	Florent Geroux	124	Brad H. Cox	8/5