Midnight Bisou, Road to Victory Meet in Mother Goose

The gates sprung open in the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), and Jeff Bloom's heart began to sink.

A few strides into the 1 1/8-mile test, the filly carrying his Bloom Racing Stable colors found herself in a world of trouble when she was squeezed at the start and got shuffled back in the 14-horse field. She recovered from that to rally around the final turn, but after being forced to go seven wide, with another bump along the way, the realization set in that one of the best efforts from Midnight Bisou would only be good enough for minor honors.

Make no mistake, Bloom takes nothing away from that day's winner, brilliant divisional leader Monomoy Girl. That doesn't mean he doesn't still wonder what might have been if just one of the things that went sideways for Midnight Bisou during her third-place run as the Oaks favorite lined up in her favor.

"She never had a chance in the Oaks. She literally never had a chance," Bloom said. "The fact that she ran third was remarkable. She got smashed at the start, and that completely took her out of the race. At the quarter pole, she got knocked sideways. She recovered from that, and then she ended up going extremely wide.

"(Jockey) Mike (Smith) said there was never a point in the race where anything went right for her. We obviously didn't get the win, but when we look at the race through a microscope … it's almost one of her best races."

After switching barns and being given a break following that Kentucky Oaks run, Midnight Bisou will aim to make a return to the winner's circle June 30, when she heads up a salty edition of the $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park.

Monomoy Girl stands out in the 3-year-old filly ranks—she added a win in the June 9 Acorn Stakes (G1) to her impressive résumé—but the camp behind Midnight Bisou has every reason to think the second half of 2018 has top-level victories in her future. The daughter of Midnight Lute  brought a three-race win streak into the first Friday in May, with scores in the Santa Ynez Stakes (G2), Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3), and Santa Anita Oaks (G1) this year for trainer Bill Spawr.

Following the Kentucky Oaks, the dark bay filly was transferred to the barn of Steve Asmussen. Midnight Bisou has been working steadily at Churchill Downs, including a bullet six-furlong workout in 1:12 June 18.

"Steve has been saying she's gotten strong and better," said Bloom, whose Bloom Racing campaigns Midnight Bisou in partnership with Allen Racing and Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables. "Her work two works back (were) just ridiculously strong. The Oaks was such a rough race. It was an immediate decision for us to be like … let's have her have a chance to settle, let's skip the Acorn, and set her up for the rest of her campaign for the second half of the year.

"It feels like it's been forever just waiting for this next race, but it really wasn't that long. So we're anxious to get her back out there and let her answer the questions for herself on the racetrack."

As long as Midnight Bisou sticks to the script, the path forward according to Bloom is to get through this weekend and then work out a plan to get her to the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), where she can aim to have better luck beneath the Twin Spires.

Turning the tables on Monomoy Girl will be among Midnight Bisou's objectives down the road—and it's something one of her Mother Goose rivals already has pulled off.

The Mark Casse-trained Road to Victory is the only horse to defeat the Kentucky Oaks winner. She bested Monomoy Girl in a thrilling duel during the Nov. 25 Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Quality Road  went to the sideline with an injury after that and returned June 9 at Woodbine to capture the Alywow Stakes going 6 1/2 furlongs on the turf to remain unbeaten in three starts.

"We just gave her some time off, and she grew up," Casse said. "It took a little longer to get her back than I thought it would. When I knew we couldn't make the Kentucky Oaks, we came up with plan B for the Alywood and the Mother Goose. I wanted her to get a win, and she broke her maiden at Woodbine (in October), and I just thought it was a good spot that would lead up to the Mother Goose."

Casse also entered Gio Game, but the Delaware Oaks (G3) July 7 could be a target instead.

"More than likely only one is going to run," Casse said. "My idea right now is that if everything remains the same, it will be Road to Victory in the Mother Goose. It never hurts to have two really good fillies. You never know what could happen, if one of them has a temperature or doesn't eat up, and I can decide if one of them needs an extra week."

The Dale Romans-trained Coach Rocks captured the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) March 31 after it took seven tries to break her maiden. The daughter of Oxbow  finished seventh in the Kentucky Oaks, and she enters the 1 1/16-mile Mother Goose off a runner-up finish in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) May 18.

Entries: Mother Goose S. (G2)

Belmont Park, Saturday, June 30, 2018, Race 8

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $250,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:18 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Indy Union (KY)	Junior Alvarado	121	Jeremiah C. Englehart	20/1
2	2Midnight Bisou (KY)	Mike E. Smith	121	Steven M. Asmussen	8/5
3	3Mo Smart (OH)	David Cohen	121	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
4	4Gio Game (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	121	Mark E. Casse	6/1
5	5Coach Rocks (KY)	Robby Albarado	121	Dale L. Romans	6/1
6	6Road to Victory (KY)	Manuel Franco	121	Mark E. Casse	5/2
7	7My Miss Lilly (KY)	Flavien Prat	121	Mark A. Hennig	5/1