Monomoy Girl, Midnight Bisou Meet Again in CCAO
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Photo: Nicole Marie
Monomoy Girl wins the Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park, her third consecutive top-level score
The last thing Monomoy Girl needs help with is enhancing her reputation as the most superior member of her class.
She is a neck away from being unbeaten in eight starts. She hasn't lost since the calendar year flipped to 2018, and her last three wins have all come in grade 1 tests—a distinction that leaves her and Triple Crown winner Justify as the only horses with three or more top-level wins in North America this season.
Yet even as the daughter of Tapizar cooled her competitive heels following her two-length score in the June 9 Acorn Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park, she continued to be flattered by those she had already bested. Wonder Gadot and Midnight Bisou—second and third, respectively, to the chestnut dynamo in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1)—enjoyed success within hours of each other June 30, with the former defeating males in the Queen's Plate at Woodbine and the latter posting a six-length win in the Mother Goose Stakes (G2). Lest there was any lingering doubt about the quality of those Monomoy Girl had put away, Acorn Stakes runner-up Talk Veuve To Me recorded a 4 3/4-length win in the July 14 Indiana Oaks (G3) that was even more sublime than the final margin suggested.
"I'm sure at some point we'll be able to look back in the near future or whenever, I'm sure there will be a time when we'll be able to sit down and digest it, but … she's just a very special filly, and she means a lot to us," said trainer Brad Cox of the filly who brought him the first grade 1 win of his career. "She's done a lot for us. It's definitely a really good group of 3-year-old fillies this year, and we hope to get to the Breeders' Cup with her, and hopefully she can become a champion and win an Eclipse."
The hold Monomoy Girl already has over her fellow sophomore fillies can become a vice grip if she keeps to her usual routine in the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga Race Course July 22. With rival and fellow grade 1 winner Midnight Bisou also in the compact field of five, a victory by Monomoy Girl would necessitate a remarkable confluence of circumstances in order for Cox's protégé to let divisional honors slip from her grasp.
The overflow of talent around her may be the best tribute yet to Monomoy Girl's exceptional ascent this year.
In most other seasons, Midnight Bisou's four graded stakes wins would be enough for her to lay claim as the best 3-year-old filly on either coast, especially since her only defeat came in the Kentucky Oaks, where she endured a troubled trip from well back in the field. Not only has Monomoy Girl stolen thunder by putting some supremely talented challengers in their place, she has only briefly been challenged along the way.
What could have been a disastrous outing in the Feb. 17 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) after hitting the gate at the start turned into a 2 1/2-length, season-opening victory dance for Monomoy Girl. Her 5 1/2-length win in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) was a glorified workout, but she showed she could win a slugfest when she outfought Wonder Gadot down the Churchill Downs stretch to take the Oaks by a half-length.
The Acorn gave Monomoy Girl wins at five different tracks, and her versatility is such that she earned her first two victories on the turf. Cox said he hasn't seen anything to suggest the toll is wearing on his stable star.
"She's training extremely well. She did all her breezes since the Acorn at Churchill because that is home for her and she does really well there," Cox said. "She's in great form right now. Her last few works have been fantastic—she certainly hasn't regressed. We certainly expect a big effort out of her Sunday."
Where the 1 1/8-mile Coaching Club American Oaks has been the target for Monomoy Girl since the Acorn, Midnight Bisou was only officially confirmed for the race last week.
The daughter of Midnight Lute is owned by Bloom Racing Stable, Allen Racing, and Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, the latter purchasing a minority interest in the filly last month. Given that Kumin is also co-owner of Monomoy Girl along with Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables, the initial plan was to bypass the Coaching Club with Midnight Bisou and wait for the Aug. 18 Alabama Stakes (G1).
The dark bay/brown filly forced a change in plans when she emerged from her Mother Goose win with the demeanor of a horse who wanted more. After breezing an easy half-mile July 15 for trainer Steve Asmussen in :50.73, Midnight Bisou was given the green light to try and prove she isn't out of the running for divisional bragging rights just yet.
"She came out of that race in such great shape, and it didn't really take anything out of her," said Jeff Bloom, founder of Bloom Racing. "The Alabama is still a definite target for us as well. It's not like our filly has had an ultra-hard campaign, and the nice thing about the Coaching Club is it gives her the opportunity to get a race over the track, and timing isn't that much of a challenge for her considering the Mother Goose wasn't that taxing for her."
Midnight Bisou was trained by Bill Spawr for her first six starts, including her 3 1/2-length win in the April 7 Santa Anita Oaks (G1). She has won four of her seven starts, with her third-place effort in the Kentucky Oaks representing her lowest placing.
The presence of the two big girls didn't exactly inspire an influx in the entry box.
Graded stakes winner Chocolate Martini, fifth in the Kentucky Oaks, is among the trio trying to upset the apple cart Sunday. The daughter of Broken Vow won the Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) in March and most recently finished third in the June 16 Summertime Oaks (G2).
While trainer Mark Casse is sending Wonder Gadot to the July 24 Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, he will be represented in the Coaching Club by Acorn Stakes third-place finisher Gio Game.
Ken McPeek trainee Eskimo Kisses, runner-up in the Ashland Stakes and fourth in the Kentucky Oaks, rounds out the field.
Saratoga Race Course, Sunday, July 22, 2018, Race 9Entries: Coaching Club American Oaks (G1)
PP
Horse
Jockey
Wgt
Trainer
M/L
1
1Chocolate Martini (KY)
Irad Ortiz, Jr.
121
Thomas M. Amoss
12/1
2
2Midnight Bisou (KY)
Mike E. Smith
121
Steven M. Asmussen
7/5
3
3Eskimo Kisses (KY)
Javier Castellano
121
Kenneth G. McPeek
6/1
4
4Monomoy Girl (KY)
Florent Geroux
121
Brad H. Cox
4/5
5
5Gio Game (KY)
Julien R. Leparoux
121
Mark E. Casse
10/1
