Midnight Bisou Wins Cotillion Via Disqualification

Midnight Bisou and Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith used several tactics to try and beat Monomoy Girl down the stretch of the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) Sept. 22 at Parx Racing. In the end that win came via an objection.

It took her own foibles and the stewards in Pennsylvania to snap Monomoy Girl's impressive 2018 win streak. In pursuit of her fifth straight grade 1 victory this season, the brilliant Tapizar  filly took a rail trip from post 2 just off pacesetter Jump Ruler—who opened with fractions of :24.08 and :48.63 before fading—then easily moved from third to a clear lead heading into the final turn in the 1 1/16-mile Cotillion. 

As she bore out significantly at the top of the lane under regular rider Florent Geroux, Monomoy Girl left a wide path inside, which Smith targeted with Midnight Bisou after they raced a close fifth outside early.

Then Monomoy Girl bore back in.

"I hate to see it end in controversy like that, but my mare deserves a fair chance, and I don't think she got one," Smith said. "I never got a straight run, and we got beat only by a head."

When Smith switched Midnight Bisou back outside to avoid their weaving rival, the head-on film showed Monomoy Girl bearing out again, sending Midnight Bisou out farther, to the center of the track.

"I wasn't on her heels yet, and was able to alter the course," Smith said of the first incident. "The second time she came out, I was on her heels, and if I go in, there's a 90% chance I'm going to hit her and fall, so I had to keep going out and we just kept going out.

"If she only came in the first time, she probably wouldn't have gotten disqualified, but there were two different incidents. She'll do that, that mare. She'll lean into one. She's a fighter, but I was proud of my mare. Even after everything, she was surging at the end."

The rivals straightened out inside the final sixteenth, as Monomoy Girl maintained the advantage by a neck at the wire in a final time of 1:45.95. Smith's objection was lodged shortly after, and 1-2 choice Monomoy Girl was disqualified to second, her first loss in six starts for trainer Brad Cox this year.

The conflicted look on co-owner Sol Kumin's face said it all, as he waited out the stewards' review. Through Monomoy Stables, Kumin owns Monomoy Girl in partnership with Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, Bethlehem Stables. He also bought a share of Midnight Bisou from Bloom Racing Stable and Allen Racing, through his Madaket Stables, after the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). 

"I was honestly kind of a little bit uncomfortable," Kumin admitted. "When I watched the race live, I thought Monomoy Girl had won, and I was with my partners in Monomoy Girl. We had a big crew and all went down to the winner's circle. Then I saw the objection, and I didn't think it was that big of a deal, and then I saw the head-on (replay), and I thought, 'Oh (expletive). This horse might come down and maybe should.'

"I didn't know where to stand. Mike Smith and Jeff Bloom and (trainer) Steve (Asmussen's) assistant were on one side, and on the other side, you had Brad Cox and that whole crew, and I kind of stood by myself in the middle. I have a lot of horses with a lot of different people, and very rarely are you in a situation where you feel that uncomfortable. I've had it where you co-own two in a race and one wins and one runs second, but I've never had it where you own both with two different groups and the inquiry goes that long. It was not your usual winner's circle, but they both ran monstrous races, they both deserved to win, and I thought the call was the right call."

Kumin said his post-race review with Geroux indicated Monomoy Girl lost focus after she made the lead.

"What Florent said was that, as soon as she got to the lead, she started kind of looking around and sort of stopped, so at that point, I think Florent was doing what he could to try to win the race," the owner said. "We'd heard all day that the rail was dead, and we didn't want to be on the rail. They were both riding against each other to win, and both did a good job." 

Midnight Bisou, the 4-1 second choice in a field of eight 3-year-old fillies, paid $10.40, $3.40, and $2.40 to across the board. Wonder Gadot, coming off a last-of-10 finish in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), finished 10 1/2 lengths back to complete the trifecta. 



Midnight Bisou, who put together an impressive win streak earlier this season, when she won the Santa Ynez Stakes (G2), Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3), and Santa Anita Oaks (G1), tangled with Monomoy Girl and emerged on the losing end in two prior races. She ran third behind the brawny chestnut and Wonder Gadot in the Kentucky Oaks and came in second by three lengths to Monomoy Girl in the July 22 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), her first start for Asmussen after she was shifted from the California stable of Bill Spawr.

"We thought she came in here really fresh and on her game," said assistant trainer Scott Blasi. "It's tough to win like this (and) lose like that. We've all been there. That being said, she deserved to win the race."

Midnight Bisou was bred in Kentucky by Woodford Thoroughbreds, out of the Repent mare Diva Delite, and was an $80,000 purchase by Jeff Bloom from the Ocala Breeders' Sales 2017 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

The Midnight Lute  filly won the June 30 Mother Goose Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park and finished third in the Aug. 18 Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course before her Cotillion score. The Cotillion victory boosted her earnings to $1,385,000, with a 5-3-2 record from 10 starts. She is undefeated in four starts at the 1 1/16-mile distance.

"I think these are your two best 3-year-old dirt fillies in the country, and they threw down," Kumin said. "I'm looking forward to the (Longines) Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1, Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs). And I think the plan with both of these two fillies is to bring them back next year, so I hope to see them throw down many more times." 

Video: Cotillion S. (G1)