Feb. 27-28 was a rewarding weekend for returning champions from the Brad Cox stable at Oaklawn Park.
Following Essential Quality 's successful return Saturday in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn, two-time champion and stablemate Monomoy Girl also scored decisively, winning the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) Feb. 28 by two lengths over Our Super Freak in her seasonal debut.
Stalking in third outside the leaders under Florent Geroux, she picked up frontrunners Finite and Our Super Freak exiting the second turn and pulled clear under periodic right-handed urging from her rider. The 6-year-old Tapizar mare raced 1 1/16 miles on a sloppy track in 1:45.92 following splits of :24.60 and :49.41 set by Finite, and a 1:14.13 fraction by Our Super Freak.
The race was vintage Monomoy Girl, now a winner of 14 of 16 races and more than $4.5 million. Though victorious, she did only what was necessary, seemingly content to not run up the score. Her ears shot forward in midstretch, and she simply maintained a two-length lead in the final furlong.
"It was a great trip. It set up great from the start with the outside post and short field. I let the horse in front of me do the dirty work and I just tucked in behind, on the outside, which was the smart thing today with the track condition. When I asked her turning for home, she gave me what she has all the time. She always delivers so it's easy to appreciate a champion. I'm the luckiest jockey in the world right now."
Those that backed her to 1-5 favoritism did have one brief period in which their mutuel tickets seemed momentarily in doubt. Midway on the second turn, Geroux needed to ask her to advance on the leaders, and her response was not immediate. Instead, she gathered her momentum slowly and out quickened her rivals in early stretch.
"Florent went to working on her a little bit earlier than normal but she was able to punch on down the lane and finish up well," said Cox "I'm very proud of her performance."
The race was her first since winning the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Keeneland Nov. 7.
With the Oaklawn track soaked after several days of rain, most of the jockeys tried to stay well off the inside in the race, though Monomoy Girl was unaffected. She had drawn perfectly on the outside given the nature of the racetrack, leaving her away from the perceived slower going and away from kickback.
Our Super Freak held second, followed by Finite, another 1 1/4 lengths behind in third. Chance to Shine, Istan Council, and Another Broad completed the order of finish in the field of six.
"I think my filly ran a huge race," said Our Super Freak's jockey, David Cohen. "Obviously, you go against a champion like that, a lot of horses when they get passed like that, the way she did today, it takes the heart away. She kept digging in and really grinded out a good second place. Galloped out well. I think my filly is really back on track, running her best races like she was prior."
Monomoy Girl raced Sunday carrying the black colors of MyRacehorse.com, who leased a majority of her racing rights from owner Spendthrift Farm. Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables is another partner in her racing campaign this year.
Spendthrift purchased her for $9.5 million last fall from the ELiTE consignment at The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's premier breeding stock sale in Kentucky, tying for second all-time among racing and broodmare prospects sold at public auction in North America.
Prior to her sale, she raced last year for Michael Dubb, Kumin's Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables.
Bred in Kentucky by F P F LLC and Highfield Ranch, Monomoy Girl is out of the Henny Hughes mare Drumette, who also produced Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice), winner of the division of the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) in 2020. All six of her foals to race are winners. Her two unraced foals are a 2-year-old unnamed Mastery filly and an unnamed yearling colt by Tapit .
The Bayakoa leads toward Oaklawn's richest race for older dirt females, the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17.
"We'll talk it over with Spendthrift but that's kind of been the short-term goal, the Apple Blossom here in the spring," said Cox.
He plans to return her to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots to train, hopeful of avoiding adverse weather which has impacted racing and training in Arkansas during the month of February. The Oaklawn main track was closed for 11 days for training due to freezing conditions and snow in the early and middle portion of the month, and Oaklawn has been recently pounded by rain showers.
Video: Bayakoa S. (G3)
