Midnight Disguise Surges to Busher Stakes Victory

Joan M. Taylor says fillies who stand 17.2 hands tall like Midnight Disguise are not supposed to run at 2, much less win winter stakes in the early days of their 3-year-old campaigns.

Yet her size has done little to hinder Midnight Disguise's development, as reflected in the $200,000 Busher Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack March 3, when the New York-bred Midnight Lute  filly surged in the final yards to register a 1 3/4-length victory over Godolphin Racing's Sara Street and all but wrapped up a spot in the $1 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

"The conventional wisdom about horses doesn't always hold," said Taylor, who owns and bred Midnight Disguise along with her husband, Dr. William B. Wilmot. "She has been a pleasant surprise."

With the Busher worth 50 points in the Road to the Kentucky Oaks series, Midnight Disguise now ranks second on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard to another Midnight Lute filly—Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) winner Midnight Bisou—and has 60 points in the chase for the 14 starting spots, having previously received 10 points for a win in the Busanda Stakes. That should be a safe figure come race day May 4, giving Taylor, Wilmot and trainer Linda Rice the very distinct possibility of having their first Oaks starter.

"It's an exciting possibility, and the Oaks is on our schedule, though we want to win the Alabama (G1)," Rice said, in a nod to Taylor and Wilmot living in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Yet before the first Friday in May arrives, Rice said Midnight Disguise will run in the $300,000 Gazelle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct April 7.

"That's the natural stepping-stone," Rice said. "It's all good."

The Busher was Midnight Disguise's fourth win in five starts, with the lone loss coming in a second-place finish in the East View Stakes for state-breds Jan. 14 at Aqueduct. She has now earned $257,600.

The homebred filly is out of the Yes It's True mare Thin Disguise. Taylor, who sold a share of the mare to Mike McMahon, said Thin Disguise is in foal to Bodemeister  and will be bred to Gun Runner  next year. 

Midnight Disguise's late kick came to the fore in the Busher, as she rallied from last in a field of six 3-year-old fillies. After California shipper and 2-1 favorite War Heroine set the early pace of :24.57 and :48.96, Sara Street, who prompted the pace in second, took charge and opened a one-length lead at the eighth pole.

Yet the final furlong belonged to Midnight Disguise, the 5-2 ($7.90) third-choice who kicked clear late under Trevor McCarthy to cover the flat mile in 1:39:15 on a cold, windy day at Aqueduct.

"She really kicks into gear late. She's a big filly, and she's obviously learned a lot," Rice said. "This was a much tougher race than she had run in thus far ... but she seems to step through every hurdle we give her."

Sara Street held on for second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of My Miss Lilly, who was third by a neck over Shamrock Rose.

Considering his filly was making just her third start, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin was pleased with Sara Street's performance.

"She ran very well. (Jockey Dylan Davis) rode a great race. We were second best, but it was a good run," he said.

The second through fourth finishers received 20-10-5 points, respectively, in the Oaks points race. My Miss Lilly now has 12 points.

War Heroine and Gypsy Janie rounded out the order of finish.

In 2013, King of Prussia Stable's Princess of Sylmar became the only filly to win the Busher and the Kentucky Oaks. Much like the plans for Midnight Disguise, she ran second in the Gazelle before winning the Oaks at 38-1 odds.