Horse Racing

Monomoy Girl Splashes Home First In Bayakoa, Winning For 14th Time In 16 Starts




Two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl registered her 14th victory in 16 career starts on Sunday at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., dispatching five filly and mare rivals on a sloppy track to win her seasonal debut by two lengths under regular rider Florent Geroux.

Trained by Brad Cox for Spendthrift Farm, My Racehorse and Madaket Stables, the 6-year-old mare by Tapizar out of Drumette, by Henny Hughes, took the overland route most of the 1 1/16 miles, stopping the teletimer in 1:45.92.

Our Super Freak edged Finite by 1 1/4 lengths for second place, with Chance to Shine fourth, Istan Council fifth and Another Broad trailing the field. Sent off the heavy favorite, Monomoy Girl paid $2.40 as a heavy favorite.

Steve Asmussen-trained Finite jumped out to an early lead under Ricardo Santana Jr., setting fractions of :24.60 for the opening quarter mile and :49.41 for the half. Our Super Freak applied pressure to Finite approaching the far turn after six furlongs in 1:14.13, with Monomoy Girl biding her time just behind the top pair and well off the rail.

Our Super Freak and David Cohen passed Finite, who fought back gamely to her inside, but Geroux and Monomoy Girl had them both measured, and the champion moved to the lead at the top of the stretch, sailing past the mile marker in 1:39.04 en route to her victory.

“It was a great trip,” said Geroux. “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 has all the time. She always deliver so it’s easy to appreciate a champion. I’m the luckiest jockey in the world right now.”

“It’s kind of a relief to get it over with,” Cox said. “I was proud of her. She ran big. I think just given the post and the way they broke and laid going into the first turn, it set up well for her. She always kind of gets that little bit of a wide trip. Nothing really out of the ordinary. It means a lot. I’m very proud of what she accomplished today. Very, very pleased with what she was able to accomplish and bringing her to Hot Springs means a lot. It’s a great racing town. The Saratoga of the South, I guess you could call it. There were a lot of fans here and I think they appreciate our team bringing her here.”

Cohen, aboard Our Super Freak, said: “I think my filly ran a huge race. 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.”

Santana said he had a “perfect trip” aboard Finite. “She gave me everything she had.”





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