Monomoy Girl Set for Cotillion Return

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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Monomoy Girl wins the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga Race Course

After a two-month break, leading 3-year-old filly Monomoy Girl will begin her push to the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) when the Tapizar  filly starts in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) Sept. 22 at Parx Racing.

While Monomoy Girl is going for her fifth consecutive grade 1 win at a fifth different track, trainer Brad Cox said she is especially comfortable at Churchill Downs, where she's been preparing for Saturday's race.

Taking that short break meant missing the 1 1/4-mile Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 18 at Saratoga Race Course. Under the Twin Spires since that date, Monomoy Girl has breezed five times, with four of those moves at five furlongs. Three of those four moves ranked in the top four at the distance, including a Sept. 9 bullet breeze in 1:00 2/5.

Feeling at home in Louisville, the chestnut filly's looks are just as brilliant as her recent work pattern.

"I think she's ready to run; she acts like it," Cox said. "She looks fantastic. The color of her coat is great, her weight's great. As far as the calendar goes and the way the races fell for the 3-year-old fillies, I just felt it made sense to skip the Alabama and the distance and it set us up well for this race and hopefully on to the Breeders' Cup."

Cox plans for the Cotillion to be Monomoy Girl's final race before the Breeders' Cup, with plans to ship back to Louisville Sept. 23 to train for six weeks up to the 1 1/8-mile Distaff Nov. 3 at Churchill.

It's been a season where a top 3-year-old has dominated in their respective divisions. On the male side, Justify  swept the Triple Crown, then was retired. On the female side, Monomoy Girl will try to add to her perfect year for Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables' The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables off victories in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2), Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1), Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), Acorn Stakes (G1), and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1).

The Cotillion will be her first start since she took the July 22 Coaching Club American Oaks by three lengths at Saratoga.

"She's trained extremely well going into it and we expect a big effort out of her," Cox said. "I think she really likes Churchill; not that she didn't like Saratoga where we shipped in on top of the race. We kept her there for a while. She had an opportunity to breeze over the track there one time, then there was a plane going back that week, so we decided to ship her back to Kentucky and get her ready for the Cotillion there."

The field of eight 3-year-old fillies set to take on Monomoy Girl in the Cotillion includes familiar rivals Midnight Bisou and Wonder Gadot.

Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, and Allen Racing's Midnight Bisou finished third to the talented chestnut in the Kentucky Oaks, then was second in the Coaching Club American Oaks.

After finishing second in the Kentucky Oaks—just a half-length behind Monomoy Girl—Gary Barber's Wonder Gadot twice beat males in Canadian Triple Crown races, taking the Queen's Plate Stakes on the all-weather surface at Woodbine before winning the Prince of Wales Stakes on the dirt at Fort Erie Racetrack.

Both Midnight Bisou and Wonder Gadot are entered off starts at Saratoga, where Midnight Bisou finished third as the favorite in the Alabama and Wonder Gadot was last of 10 against males in the Aug. 25 Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1).

Klaravich Stables' Separationofpowers, a two-time grade 1 winner going one turn, will try two turns for just the second time in her career in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion. Trained by Chad Brown, the daughter of Candy Ride  finished fourth in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) in her first two-turn start. She enters off a victory in the seven-furlong Test Stakes (G1) Aug. 4 at Saratoga and last year won the one-turn mile Frizette Stakes (G1).

Grade 2 winner Chocolate Martini will try to improve on her third-place finish in her most recent start, the Coaching Club American Oaks. The Cotillion field also includes grade 3 winner Dixie Serenade, stakes-placed Norma's Charm, and first-time stakes starter Jump Ruler.


Entries: Cotillion S. (G1)

Parx Racing, Saturday, September 22, 2018, Race 10

  • Grade I
  • 1 1/16m
  • Dirt
  • $1,000,000
  • 3 yo Fillies
  • 4:55 PM (local)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L
1 1Norma's Charm (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate UNKNOWN 117 Uriah St. Lewis 20/1
2 2Monomoy Girl (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Florent Geroux 124 Brad H. Cox 3/5
3 3Jump Ruler (KY) Albin Jimenez 119 Kelly J. Breen 20/1
4 4Wonder Gadot (ON)Keeneland Sales Graduate John R. Velazquez 119 Mark E. Casse 6/1
5 5Separationofpowers (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Jose L. Ortiz 117 Chad C. Brown 10/1
6 6Chocolate Martini (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Irad Ortiz, Jr. 122 Thomas M. Amoss 12/1
7 7Midnight Bisou (KY)Keeneland Sales Graduate Mike E. Smith 124 Steven M. Asmussen 5/1
8 8Dixie Serenade (PA) Mychel J. Sanchez 117 Edward J. Coletti, Jr. 15/1