Midnight Bisou Clear Favorite in Santa Anita Oaks

Bill Spawr has been making the same joke for a few months.

Ever since Allen Racing and Bloom Racing Stable's Midnight Bisou put herself on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with a win in the Jan. 7 Santa Ynez Stakes (G2), people have been asking him the same question.

Have you ever had a horse run in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) or in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1)?

"I'm undefeated," the 78-year-old trainer says, frequently with a laugh.

It's not a false statement, but the joke lands with context. Spawr has won seven grade 1 races in his career, but he has never had a horse run in the early May features for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs.

That streak should come to an end if Midnight Bisou fires in the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G1) April 7.

The Midnight Lute  filly already has enough points (60) to get into the gate on the first Friday in May after she aced her two-turn debut in the March 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3) last time out at the same 1 1/16-mile distance as the Santa Anita Oaks.

CROSBY: Two Turns No Problem for Midnight Bisou in Santa Ysabel

"It would be special," Spawr said of a potential trip to Churchill. "The best in the country are going to be there, and to have a legitimate contender—we're just happy that she's stayed sound and is getting better in every way."

Midnight Bisou's athletic ability, according to Spawr, goes hand-in-hand with her mind. Those factors make the trainer confident that with added distance, the filly's capacity to relax during races and accelerate when asked will only help her going forward.

"She'll only do what you ask her to do, and that's very rare for a horse of her age," Spawr said. "She can go much farther. I wish these races were a mile and an eighth or a mile and a quarter."

Midnight Bisou, who went off at 1-5 in the Santa Ysabel, again appears to be a formidable favorite in the Santa Anita Oaks, as the second- and third-place finishers from the Santa Ysabel—Thirteen Squared and Spring Lily—return to challenge.

The only other graded winner in the nine-filly field is Rick and Sharon Waller's homebred Spectator, who won her 3-year-old debut March 18 in a 6 1/2-furlong optional-claiming allowance at Santa Anita against older fillies and mares.

BALAN: Spectator Gamely Wins 3-Year-Old Debut at Santa Anita

Whether the Phil D'Amato trainee can stretch out around two turns remains to be seen, as the Jimmy Creed  filly has only raced at sprint distances. She broke her maiden by 5 1/4 lengths going five furlongs in June at Santa Anita, won the 6 1/2-furlong Sorrento Stakes (G2) in August at Del Mar by 5 1/4 lengths again, and came in third in her final 2017 start, the seven-furlong Del Mar Debutante (G1).

Graded stakes-placed Exuberance, last-out allowance winner First Dudette, recent turf stakes runner Finess Bere, and maiden winners Fool's Paradise and We All Have Dreams complete the field.

Entries: Santa Anita Oaks (G1)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, April 07, 2018, Race 11

• Grade I
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:22 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1First Dudette (FL)	Rajiv Maragh	121	Brian J. Koriner	30/1
2	2Spring Lily (KY)	Victor Espinoza	121	John A. Shirreffs	6/1
3	3Midnight Bisou (KY)	Mike E. Smith	121	William Spawr	6/5
4	4Fool's Paradise (KY)	Mario Gutierrez	121	Ben D. A. Cecil	30/1
5	5Finess Bere (FR)	Drayden Van Dyke	121	Bob Baffert	15/1
6	6Exuberance (KY)	Corey S. Nakatani	121	Ian Kruljac	12/1
7	7Spectator (KY)	Javier Castellano	121	Philip D'Amato	3/1
8	8We All Have Dreams (KY)	Joel Rosario	121	Michael W. McCarthy	12/1
9	9Thirteen Squared (KY)	Tyler Baze	121	Bob Baffert	9/2