It wasn't the Kentucky Oaks (G1).
But for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., it was as sweet as could be.
After the disappointment of scratching My Miss Mo from the Oaks, emotions were at the other end of the scale when the daughter of Uncle Mo showed some grit in taking the $300,000 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) for 3-year-old fillies May 15 at Laurel Park.
"I always say everything happens for a reason," Joseph said after My Miss Mo's 1 3/4-length victory. "Today she proved it. She's a grade 2 winner. Could she have won the Oaks? Probably not. Today we're going to enjoy this as much as (winning) the Oaks."
Joseph said what happened at Churchill Downs was that veterinarians were concerned about the filly and wanted a PET scan. Joseph said he was unwilling to do that and had X-rays taken. But, in the end, the decision was made to scratch the filly rather than risk landing on the vets' list, which would have prevented her from running in the Black-Eyed Susan.
"They had a question mark on her Monday and they wanted us to do things we didn't want to do to put ourselves in jeopardy of missing this race," he said. "We took her out (of the Oaks) basically. ... It's a slow process and I am not going to let that process happen to miss a race like this.
"Obviously she was good to race today."
Joseph called for better dialogue between vets and horsemen in making decisions on a horse's ability to race.
"I do believe they need dialogue with everybody to make a system that will be more protective of the horse and also more respectful and not rushing to rash decisions that ruin a horse's career. There's a fine balance. Horse safety, yes. But also balance so that (the horse) does not miss opportunities that never come again. It's like if you put 10 guilty people in jail and also one innocent person, that's not a good system," Joseph said.
Owned by Averill Racing, Mathis Stable, and Tristan de Meric, My Miss Mo was the 5-2 favorite in the Black-Eyed Susan off seconds in the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) and Davona Dale Stakes (G2).
Breaking from the outside post under Tyler Gaffalione in a field of nine, she was second behind 62-1 outsider Savor It, who set the early fractions of :24.14 and :49.10. My Miss Mo grabbed the lead midway on the final turn and was soon joined by Imaginary Stables' Jumping the Gun, who was third after a half-mile.
My Miss Mo ($7) dueled with the Gun Runner filly through the stretch before edging away in the final sixteenth to cover the 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.15 in the initial Black-Eyed Susan run at Laurel while Pimlico Race Course is being rebuilt..
Jumping the Gun, trained by Andrew Simoff, was a length ahead of C R K Stable's A. P.'s Girl, an Honor A. P. filly trained by Peter Eurton.
Bred by Valerie Mastromonaco, de Meric, and Uncle Mo Syndicate out of the Quality Road mare In a Dream, My Miss Mo was bought for $320,000 at the 2025 Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-olds in Training Sale.
She has now earned $328,030 after registering her first stakes win and second victory in six career starts.
Laurel Park, Friday, May 15, 2026, Race 13Entries: George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Miss Fulton Gal (KY) John R. Velazquez 118 Michael E. Gorham 30/1 2 2Ivy Girl (KY) Victor R. Carrasco 120 Amelia J. Green 15/1 3 3Holly's Holiday (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Kenneth G. McPeek 6/1 4 4Savor It (KY) Mychel J. Sanchez 118 Uriah St. Lewis 30/1 5 5Braken Poppa (LA) Jose L. Ortiz 118 Steven M. Asmussen 7/2 6 6Haute Diva (KY) Keith J. Asmussen 120 Patrick L. Biancone 15/1 7 7Jumping the Gun (KY) Luis Saez 118 Andrew L. Simoff 3/1 8 8Majestic Lucia (FL) Junior Alvarado 118 Victor Barboza, Jr. 12/1 9 9A. P.'s Girl (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Peter Eurton 5/1 10 10My Miss Mo (FL) Tyler Gaffalione 118 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 7/2
