The Bayakoa originally was scheduled Feb. 5 before being postponed because of a winter storm that closed the Hot Springs, Ark. track last weekend. The Bayakoa was redrawn Monday, with the original cast of seven again entered. The field will be reduced by at least one after trainer Phil Bauer said Mariah's Princess would be scratched.

Probable post time for the 1 1/16-mile Bayakoa, the eighth of 11 races, is 3:47 p.m. (Central). The 10th race is the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles. First post Saturday is 12:10 p.m. (Central).

Cox has won four of Oaklawn's last five two-turn stakes races for older females, dating to the $150,000 Pippin in January 2021 with Getridofwhatailesu. Cox then captured the $250,000 Bayakoa (G3) with two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl and the $350,000 Azeri (G2) with Shedaresthedevil. Monomoy Girl, in what would be her final career start, was beaten a nose by Letruska in the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) last April to deny Cox a four-race sweep in 2021.

Cox found the winner's circle again in the $150,000 Pippin Jan. 8 with Coach (Commissioner), who is the 5-2 program favorite Saturday. Cox also has the 3-1 co-second choice in the program in multiple stakes winner Matera.

Freshened following last April's $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies, Coach is seeking her third consecutive victory. She was a sharp two-length allowance winner in her Dec. 17 comeback race at Oaklawn.

“Obviously, Coach loves Oaklawn,” Cox said. “She's better than she's ever been. She always tries hard. She's very competitive. Obviously, it's a step up. The way she's training, I feel like she can step another step forward. It will be her third run off the layoff, so I'm excited about her.”

Blue-blooded Matera – Tapit out of Oaklawn stakes winner Miss Macy Sue – captured an allowance race last March in Hot Springs in her first start for Cox. The $1.4 million Keeneland September Yearling Sale graduate added stakes victories at Horseshoe Indianapolis (formerly Indiana Grand) and Ellis Park before closing 2021 with a runner-up finish in the $300,000 Chilukki Stakes (G3) Nov. 20 at Churchill Downs.

“Matera missed a little bit of time once she arrived at Oaklawn,” Cox said. “Had an illness. Nothing major at all, we just missed some time. Got her back going and she's had three works since. This was obviously a race we were pointing for, this and the Houston Ladies Classic (Jan. 30). Waiting for this gave us an opportunity to work her once more. She's a little behind where we expected her to be, given the fact she ran in November, and missed a little time. But she's done extremely well once we got her back to the track and training, so we'll see where we are.”

The Bayakoa entrants from the rail out:

1. Matera, Florent Geroux to ride, 119 pounds, 3-1 on the morning line
2. Miss Bigly, Ramon Vazquez, 119, 9-2
3. She's All Wolfe, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 12-1
4. Jilted Bride, Joel Rosario, 119, 8-1
5. Mariah's Princess, Martin Garcia, 119, 5-1
6. Queen Goddess, David Cabrera, 119, 3-1; and
7. Coach, Ricardo Santana Jr., 122, 5-2.

Mariah's Princess, however, will be scratched after not training satisfactorily, Bauer said in a text message Wednesday night. Mariah's Princess has won her last two starts by a combined 9 ¼ lengths, including a three-length score in the inaugural $150,000 Mistletoe Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles Dec. 4.

“Tough game,” Bauer said.

Southern California-based Queen Goddess exits a front-running 2 ¾-length victory in the $300,000 American Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. The 1 ¼-mile American Oaks, moved from the grass to the main track because of rain, marked the dirt debut for Queen Goddess, a 4-year-old daughter of Empire Maker who races for her breeder, TOLO Thoroughbreds, & Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

Trainer Michael McCarthy said Queen Goddess arrived in Hot Springs Feb. 1 after being flown via FedEx to Memphis and vanned approximately 190 miles. Queen Goddess worked an easy half-mile in :53.40 Monday in advance of the Bayakoa, which is a major local prep for the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 12 and, ultimately, the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 23. The Azeri and Apple Blossom are also 1 1/16-mile races.

“Looks like on paper she should be right there, with a little bit of speed outside of her,” McCarthy said. “The controlling speed looks to be inside, so David can get himself into a good position going into the first turn and let the chips fall as they may.”

Queen Goddess made her first five career starts on grass. In addition to winning at 1 ¼ miles, Queen Goddess broke her maiden at 1 1/16 miles Aug. 7 at Del Mar and finished fifth in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Oct. 16 at Keeneland.

“This is a mile and a sixteenth, so a little different strategy, a little different race shape,” McCarthy said. “We'll see. She's certainly earned the chance to go ahead and compete.”

The consistent Miss Bigly ran third behind Matera in the Chilukki and second behind Coach in the Pippin. Trained by Phil D'Amato, Miss Bigly has finished first, second or third in 19 of 25 lifetime starts.

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The Bayakoa originally was scheduled Feb. 5 before being postponed because of a winter storm that closed the track last weekend. The Bayakoa was redrawn Monday, with the original cast of seven again entered. Probable post time for the 1 1/16-mile Bayakoa, the eighth of 11 races, is 3:47 p.m. (Central). The 10th race is the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (G3) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles. First post Saturday is 12:10 p.m.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, Queen Goddess exits a front-running 2 ¾-length victory in the $300,000 American Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. The 1 ¼-mile American Oaks, moved from the grass to the main track because of rain, marked the dirt debut of Queen Goddess, a 4-year-old daughter of Empire Maker who races for her breeder, TOLO Thoroughbreds, and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

McCarthy said Queen Goddess arrived in Hot Springs Feb. 1 after being flown via FedEx to Memphis and vanned approximately 190 miles.

“Little bit of a curveball with the weather,” McCarthy said Tuesday afternoon. “Not something we get much of out here in California. But the filly seems like she's doing well, even with the extended stay.”

Queen Goddess worked an easy half-mile in :53.40 Monday in advance of the Bayakoa, which is a major local prep for the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 12 and, ultimately, the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 23. The Azeri and Apple Blossom are also 1 1/16-mile races.

Queen Goddess made her first five career starts on grass, breaking her maiden at 1 1/16 miles Aug. 7 at Del Mar and finishing fifth in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Oct. 16 at Keeneland.

McCarthy said he considered staying home for the $100,000 Megahertz Stakes (G3) at 1 mile on the turf Jan. 29 at Santa Anita before opting to keep Queen Goddess on dirt and shipping to Oaklawn.

“Nothing out here kind of made sense on the schedule,” McCarthy said. “We gave some thought to the Megahertz. Her race on the dirt was so good in the American Oaks. Thought we would go back there and try our hand on that surface and if she adapted well to it, took well to it, obviously would give some thought to the Apple Blossom in the spring.”

McCarthy won the 2020 Apple Blossom with Ce Ce, among three finalists for an Eclipse Award as the country's champion female sprinter of 2021. Ce Ce punctuated her 2021 campaign with a victory in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) Nov. 6 at Del Mar. She finished second in the $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes (G2) last Saturday at Santa Anita in her 6-year-old debut.

McCarthy said Ce Ce could return to Oaklawn this year, adding much may hinge on Queen Goddess' performance in the Bayakoa.

“I'd like for you to see both of these there in the spring,” McCarthy said.

Queen Goddess has a 3-1-1 record and career earnings of $303,080. The Bayakoa will be her second start outside California.

The Bayakoa field from the rail out:

1. Matera, Florent Geroux to ride, 119 pounds, 3-1 on the morning line;
2. Miss Bigly, Ramon Vazquez, 119, 9-2;
3. She's All Wolfe, Francisco Arrieta, 119, 12-1;
4. Jilted Bride, Joel Rosario, 119, 8-1;
5. Mariah's Princess, Martin Garcia, 119, 5-1;
6. Queen Goddess, David Cabrera, 119, 3-1; and
7. Coach, Ricardo Santana Jr., 122, 5-2.

Two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl won last year's Bayakoa for trainer Brad Cox, who will send out Matera and Coach.

The 1 1/16-mile Razorback drew nine older horses: Popular Kid, Super Stock, Lone Rock, Rated R Superstar, Promise Keeper, Thomas Shelby, Last Samurai, Plainsman and Silver Prospector.

Millionaire multiple Grade 2 winner Lone Rock is the 3-1 program favorite after winning 7 of 9 starts last year, including the inaugural $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Dec. 18 for trainer Robertino Diodoro.

Probable post time for the Razorback is 4:56 p.m. The Razorback is a major local prep for the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) at 1 1/8 miles April 23.

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With the scratch of Lisette, the Bayakoa field was down to six, with As Time Goes By facing Warren's Showtime, second in her last start in the Betty Grable, and Moonlight d'Oro, a last-out second to Livingmybestlife in the Seashell at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. After an even break, Harvest Moon showed her head in front first, with As Time Goes By stalking on the rail and Bye Bye Bertie on the outside in third. They stayed one-two-three around the first turn and into the backstretch, with Stellar Sound boldly moving to the lead in the last part of the backstretch. As Time Goes By went with her, these two entering the far turn with As Time Goes By on the lead.

Into the stretch at the Cypress, Calif., track, As Time Goes By was able to shake off Stellar Sound, who gave way to a surging Warren's Showtime on the outside. As Time Goes By did not let her challenger by, holding off Warren's Showtime to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Moonlight d'Oro was third and Stellar Sound fourth.

The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.97. Find this race's chart here.

As Time Goes By paid $4.20, $3.00, and $2.10. Warren's Showtime paid $4.40 and $2.80. Moonlight d'Oro paid $2.40.

“She was going well the entire way. I actually think (Warren's Showtime) got about a neck ahead of me in midstretch, but she regrouped and really dug in. She was very game,'' jockey Flavien Prat said after the Bayakoa.

“I love this filly. I love (wife) Jill No. 1 and this filly No. 2. My two favorite girls. They went so fast early, I was afraid of the runner-up (Warren's Showtime) who is a really good horse, and I was hoping (As Time Goes By) would have something left. I've always been high on her. I'm hoping she runs as a 5-year-old because I'd really like to win a Grade 1 with her and I know she can. (Owners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith) said if she's doing well, they will keep her in training,'' trainer Bob Baffert said after the race.

Bred in Kentucky by Orpendale and Chelston, As Time Goes By is out of the Dehere mare Take Charge Lady, a multiple G1 stakes winner and dam of 2013 Travers Stakes winner Will Take Charge. The 4-year-old filly is owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. With her win in the G3 Bayakoa, As Time Goes By has four wins in nine starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 12 starts and career earnings of $535,600.

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The season is scheduled to begin Friday, Dec. 3 and continue through Sunday, Dec. 12.

The $300,000-guaranteed Starlet, a Grade 1 for 2-year-old fillies, will be renewed for the eighth time at Los Alamitos Saturday, Dec. 4, one week before the $200,000 Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity. Won a year ago by the Bob Baffert-trained Varda, the Starlet – like the Futurity – will be contested at 1 1/16 miles.

Among the nominees to the Starlet are impressive Del Mar Debutante winner Grace Adler, Dance to the Music, Elm Drive and Eda.

Nominees for the Futurity, which was won a year ago by Spielberg, giving Baffert his seventh consecutive win in the race, include Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst, Enbarr, winner of the local Capote Stakes, Pappacap and Rhetoric.

The other two stakes for juveniles will be run at one mile and are ungraded. The $100,000 Soviet Problem – for fillies – will be offered Saturday, Dec. 11 while the $100,000 King Glorious will be run Sunday, Dec. 12. Both are for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California.

Completing the stakes schedule is the Grade 3, $100,000 Bayakoa Stakes for fillies & mares (3-year-olds & up) at 1 1/16 miles. The Bayakoa will be run Sunday, Dec. 5.

The complete LACF Winter Thoroughbred Stakes schedule:

Saturday, Dec. 4 – The Starlet (Grade 1) – 2-Year-Old Fillies – One & One Sixteenth Miles – $300,000-guaranteed

Sunday, Dec. 5 – Bayakoa Stakes (Grade 3) – 3-Year-Olds & Up, Fillies & Mares – One & One Sixteenth Miles – $100,000-guaranteed

Saturday, Dec. 11 – Soviet Problem Stakes – 2-Year-Old Fillies, Bred or Sired in California – One Mile – $100,000-guaranteed

Saturday, Dec. 11 – Los Alamitos Futurity (Grade 2) – 2-Year-Olds – One & One Sixteenth Miles – $200,000-guaranteed

Sunday, Dec. 12 – King Glorious Stakes – 2-Year-Olds, Bred or Sired in California – One Mile – $100,000-guaranteed

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Assistant trainer Jorgito Abrego, who oversees Cox's Oaklawn division, said Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality were vanned back to Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La.,  where they have been based and trained this winter, and now, early spring. Essential Quality (4 for 4 overall) won Saturday's $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds, his first start since clinching an Eclipse Award as the country's champion 2-year-old male in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

Monomoy Girl began her farewell tour by winning Sunday's $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares to stretch her career record to 14-2-0 from 16 starts. She was the county's champion 3-year-old filly of 2018 and champion older dirt female last year.

Cox said Essential Quality could return to Hot Springs for the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 10. Plans are more concrete for Monomoy Girl, who will be pointed for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17 at Oaklawn, Cox said.

“Little more consistent weather there right now,” Cox said. “That would be the main reason we're taking them back down. Neither one of them will run there, obviously.”

Monomoy Girl received a preliminary Beyer Speed Figure of 96 for her two-length Bayakoa victory. It was her first start since winning the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland and first since Spendthrift Farm purchased the 6-year-old daughter of Tapizar for $9.5 million the following day at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. Monomoy Girl will join Spendthrift's broodmare band in 2022, its stallion sales manager, Mark Toothaker, said in the Larry Snyder Winner's Circle following the Bayakoa.

Bloodstock agent Liz Crow purchased Monomoy Girl for $100,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for her original owner, Sol Kumin. Shortly before the Bayakoa, it was revealed that Kumin had bought back into the mare and My Racehorse Stable, which offers fractional ownership to investors, was another of Spendthrift's racing partners.

“You couldn't help but being a little bit nervous,” Toothaker, a Van Buren, Ark., native, said. “She did what she does. She doesn't win always drawing off, just does enough to win. Brad said that's probably why she's still around at 6 years old.”

Favored at 1-5 under regular rider Florent Geroux, Monomoy Girl ($2.40) ran 1 1/16 miles over a sloppy surface in 1:45.92. Lightning was visible southeast of Oaklawn during the post parade. Like Toothaker, Cox said he was a “little bit” nervous leading up to Monomoy Girl's 2021 debut.

“That kind of comes with what she's accomplished,” Cox said moments after sweeping the final three races Sunday. “It's kind of a relief to get it over with.”

Monomoy Girl's 11th stakes victory increased her career earnings to $4,576,818, which ranks 82^nd in North American history, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. Among Oaklawn-raced females, only Eclipse Award winners Midnight Bisou ($7,471,520) and Zenyatta ($7,304,580) have bankrolled more money. Zenyatta won the 2008 and 2010 Apple Blossom en route to champion older dirt female honors. She was also 2010 Horse of the Year. Midnight Bisou used a victory in the 2019 Apple Blossom as a springboard to an Eclipse Award as champion older dirt female.

“We're just very fortunate to be around her and to own her,” Toothaker said. “Look forward to this year and we'll look forward to breeding her to Into Mischief next year. Very exciting.”

Kentucky's Spendthrift stands Into Mischief, North America's leading sire the last two years.

The Southwest and Bayakoa were originally scheduled Feb. 15 before being postponed twice because of severe winter weather. The Bayakoa was Monomoy Girl's first start at Oaklawn.

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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.

The post Monomoy Girl Splashes Home First In Bayakoa, Winning For 14th Time In 16 Starts appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Monomoy Girl was by Tapizar, not Tapit, purchased at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $100,000 not $1 million and debuted on the grass in September 2017 at Indiana Grand, not Saratoga.

But her story mirrors that quarterback from the University of Michigan, deemed too skinny and slow to make it big in the NFL. Tom Brady was a sixth-round selection in 2000, the 199^th player overall, and the seventh quarterback taken. Brady, 43, recently won his seventh Super Bowl and now has more rings than any NFL franchise.

Like Brady, Monomoy Girl's draft grade would call for a total rewrite for scouts, too. She's a two-time Eclipse Award winner, two-time Breeders' Cup champion and destined for enshrinement in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Measurables, in both cases, were meaningless.

“I think that's a fair assessment,” said Brad Cox, who has trained Monomoy Girl throughout her nearly flawless career. “There's not another one like her, as far as how she came up and transferred to the dirt. She's a special horse.”

Monomoy Girl will begin authoring another chapter, possibly the final chapter, in her brilliant racing career Sunday at Oaklawn when she makes her 6-year-old debut in the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. Probable post time for the Bayakoa, which goes as the ninth of 10 races, is 5:11 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 1 p.m.

The projected six-horse Bayakoa field from the rail out: Chance to Shine, Ken Tohill to ride, 115 pounds, 12-1 on the morning line; Another Broad, Joel Rosario, 115, 6-1; Finite, Ricardo Santana Jr., 119, 9-5; Istan Council, Joe Talamo, 115, 6-1; Our Super Freak, David Cohen, 115, 6-1; and Monomoy Girl, Florent Geroux, 119, even money.

Two other stakes are on Sunday's card, the $150,000 Dixie Belle for 3-year-old filly sprinters and the $150,000 Downthedustyroad for female Arkansas-bred sprinters.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and owners Alex and JoAnn Lieblong of Conway, Ark., have the program favorites in both races – unbeaten Abrogate (5-2) in the Dixie Belle and multiple Oaklawn stakes winner Bye Bye J (3-1) in the Downthedustyroad.

But Sunday's unquestioned headliner is Monomoy Girl, among the most accomplished horses ever entered at Oaklawn.

Monomoy Girl has a 13-2-0 record from 15 lifetime starts and earnings of $4,426,818. One of her losses was a disqualification (stretch interference in the 2018 Cotillion), the other also self-inflicted (lugged in and out late and beaten a neck in the 2017 Golden Rod). Seven victories have come in Grade 1 company, including the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (2018 and 2020) and the $1 million Kentucky Oaks in 2018 at Churchill Downs. She has won at six tracks. She won her first two career starts on turf before switching, ultra-successfully, to dirt.

Monomoy Girl was the country's champion 3-year-old filly of 2018 and after missing 2019 because of injury and illness was crowned champion older dirt female of 2020. She was unbeaten in four races last year, including the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 7 at Keeneland in her last start.

“To me, she's one of the best fillies that's ever lived,” said bloodstock agent Liz Crow, who selected and purchased Monomoy Girl for her original owner, Sol Kumin. “I know that maybe sounds a little aggressive, but she did win the Breeders' Cup twice and she's one of only three fillies, I think, or four fillies to ever do that. She's the only filly in history to win the five Grade 1s she won as a 3-year-old, the Oaks, the Ashland, the Acorn, the Coaching Club and the Breeders' Cup. To me, she's done it all. She's really answered all the questions, and she deserves to be a Hall of Famer, I think, one day.”

The Bayakoa will mark Monomoy Girl's first start in Hot Springs. Cox said he's using the race as a prep for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17 at Oaklawn. Monomoy Girl had been under consideration for the Apple Blossom, among the country's signature two-turn events for older fillies and mares, in 2019 before being derailed and was “very, very close” to making her 2020 comeback, Cox said, in a late-season allowance race at Oaklawn. Instead, it came in mid-May at Churchill Downs.

“When we brought her back in the allowance race at Churchill, that was a lot of pressure, having been off 18 months, whatever it was,” Cox said. “Here, it's not as if we ever took her out of training. We backed off of her after the Breeders' Cup, but we never shut her down. We continued to train her lightly throughout November and December. I feel confident that she's pretty tight and pretty much ready to go. I'm excited to bring her up here. It's a great racing town and they appreciate good horses.”

Monomoy Girl arrived Wednesday night in Hot Springs after being based this winter at Fair Grounds.

Cox's go-to rider, Florent Geroux, has ridden Monomoy Girl in her last 14 starts. Geroux said Monomoy Girl has flourished because of a “big heart” and the resolve to reach the finish line first.

“She's a very gifted, talented mare,” Geroux said. “She takes her track with her. It's not like's only good at Churchill or Keeneland. She goes anywhere, East Coast, Midwest, and does great everywhere she goes. I think that's one of the main assets for her.”

The Bayakoa also will mark Monomoy Girl's first start since Spendthrift Farm purchased her for $9.5 million in November at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale. Monomoy Girl will join Spendthrift's broodmare band upon retirement, but that figures to be in 2022 after the famed racing/breeding operation of founder B. Wayne Hughes opted to keep her training with Cox this year.

Spendthrift stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker said his affinity for Monomoy Girl began after a conversation with Arkansas horseman Dan White in the fall of 2017, shortly before the horse, then 2 for 2, made her stakes and dirt debut in the $80,000 Rags to Riches at Churchill Downs.

Toothaker said White was struck by Monomoy Girl's efficient action and believed she had a “big chance” to win. Monomoy Girl delivered, by 6 ½ emphatic lengths.

“That was really the first time I got her on my radar,” said Toothaker, who grew up in Van Buren, Ark., about 130 miles northwest of Hot Springs. “Boy, who would have ever dreamed she'd go on and do what she did. Just incredible. I think it goes back to the first time that I ever had a chance to see her, just as a fan. Just the efficiency that she moved with and the amount of ground that she covered. She's got what all the champions have got. Just got the killer instinct and she's going to beat you. She's going to run right by you and break your heart. She's got that 'it' factor. No doubt about it.”

In addition to Spendthrift, Monomoy Girl is now campaigned by MyRacehorse, which offers fractional ownership to investors, and Kumin, who bought back into the mare. Crow co-owns ELiTE Sales, which consigned Monomoy Girl to Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale and is an integral part of Kumin's racing team.

“I think this is just the cherry on top, this year,” Crow said. “I think Hot Springs is one of the best places in the country for racing fans and I really hope everybody enjoys getting to watch her run live. I think that's what this year is all about. Hopefully, she gives a lot of fans an opportunity to enjoy her.”

The post ‘Not Another One Like Her’: Monomoy Girl Begins 2021 Campaign In Bayakoa appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Named champion 3-year-old filly after a sensational 2018 season, the chestnut was a perfect four-for-four last term after spending all of 2019 on the sidelines due to colic and a hamstring injury. Returning from an 18-month layoff at Churchill May 16, Monomoy Girl scored a decisive victory in a sloppy optional claimer and captured Belmont's GII Ruffian S. next out July 11. A facile winner of the GI La Troienne S. at Churchill Sept. 4, she clinched her second Eclipse award with another victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Nov. 7. Sent through the ring across town at Fasig-Tipton the very next day, Monomoy Girl was the star of the show, topping the sale on a $9.5-million bid from Spendthrift Farm and was returned to the Brad Cox barn for a 2021 campaign. In the interim, original owner Sol Kumin of Madaket Stables bought back in as co-owner and My Racehorse has also joined in as a lease partner.

This event will likely be bet as a one-horse affair, but the second best horse on paper is Finite (Munnings). Winner of the GII Rachel Alexandra S. last term, the chestnut was shelved after finishing fourth in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks in March. Trying turf in her return to action in the Music City S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 15, the $200,000 EASMAY buy showed the grass was not for her, finishing 11th. Missing by a neck to another daughter of Munnings in Venetian Harbor in Keeneland's GII Raven Run S. Oct. 17, Finite made amends with a win in the GIII Chilukki S. at Churchill Nov. 21 and rallied to be fourth in the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Dec. 26.

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Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/cross-country-wagers.

The sequence begins in Race 7 at Aqueduct (4:25 p.m. Eastern) with a seven-furlong allowance optional claiming race for older horses. Dennis Drazin's multiple graded stakes winning veteran Sunny Ridge, winner of the Grade 3 Withers in 2016, will try to make amends in his second start off a 12 ½-month layoff on February 4 when finishing a distant fourth. Trainer James Ferraro sends out Letmetakethiscall, who puts a three-race win streak on the line when facing colts.

Eight sophomore fillies assemble for the $150,000 Dixie Belle going six furlongs at Oaklawn Park [Race 6, 4:39 p.m.]. Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen will saddle Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Abrogate, who defeated winners at the same track on January 24 after a career debut victory on November 12 at Churchill Downs. The daughter of Uncle Mo is out of the Burning Roma mare Hot Coffee and is from the same family as 2010 Champion Sprinter Big Drama as well as Grade 1-winner Sheer Drama. Fox Hill Farm's Windmill will attempt to replicate her gate-to-wire four-length maiden victory for trainer Larry Jones.

Action moves back to New York for the middle leg of the sequence, where West Point Thoroughbreds' Black 'n Tan sports blinkers and takes a drop in class for a $20,000 tag in a six-furlong maiden claiming race. The Asmussen-trained son of Elusive Quality last raced for a $40,000 tag and makes his fourth lifetime start. Ask Neal, who previously raced against stakes-placed Overtook and Return the Ring in maiden special weight events, will drop to his lowest level yet for trainer John Toscano, Jr. Carded as the finale of the Big A's eight-race card, the middle leg will have a post of 4:55 p.m.

A field of a dozen Arkansas-bred fillies and mares assemble for the $100,000 Downthedustyroad Breeders' [Race 8, 5:41 p.m.] and is headlined by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's defending champion Bye Bye J. The daughter of Uncaptured takes blinkers off for Asmussen as she targets her fifth stakes victory. Shortleaf Stable's The Mary Rose attempts two straight wins after winning a six-furlong allowance on January 30 at Oaklawn Park.

Closing out the sequence is the anticipated return of two-time champion Monomoy Girl in the Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa going 1 1/16 miles at Oaklawn Park. Trained by Brad Cox and owned by B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm, MyRacehorse Stable, and Madaket Stable, Monomoy Girl has put together a career ledger of 15-13-2-0, comprising of seven Grade 1 victories across four different racetracks and over $4.4 million in earnings. The daughter of Tapizar won two non-consecutive editions of the Breeders' Cup Distaff capturing the 2018 running to seal up Champion 3-Year-Old Filly honors. She did the same when taking last year's Distaff at Keeneland and was subsequently named Champion Older Dirt Female. The Bayakoa will go off as Race 9 at Oaklawn Park with a 6:11 p.m. post.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Sunday February 28:
Leg A: Aqueduct – Race 7 (4:25 p.m.)
Leg B: Oaklawn – Race 6, $150,000 Dixie Belle (4:39 p.m.)
Leg C: Aqueduct – Race 8 (4:55 p.m.)
Leg D: Oaklawn – Race 8, $150,000 Downthedustyroad Breeders' (5:41 p.m.)
Leg E: Oaklawn – Race 9, Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa (6:11 p.m.)

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Hot Springs, Ak. has been beset by extreme winter weather since it last held racing on Feb. 11. The track has seen several inches of snow and sub-zero temperatures over the past week, and is forecast to receive an additional 10-plus inches of snow in the coming days. Races were cancelled this weekend, and all graded stakes were rescheduled.

The $750,000 Southwest, which offers 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby to the winner, was originally scheduled to be run on Feb. 15, and is now expected to be rescheduled to the week of Feb. 25-28. That puts the Southwest just two weeks before Oaklawn's next prep race, the G2 Rebel on March 14.

Essential Quality remains stabled at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La., where temperatures have dipped below freezing overnight but are not nearly as cold as in Arkansas. The Godolphin-owned 3-year-old son of Tapit put in a workout at Fair Grounds on Feb. 14, covering five furlongs in 1:02.40.

Also remaining on target for her 2021 debut at Oaklawn is dual champion Monomoy Girl. The now 6-year-old daughter of Tapizar was scheduled to run in the G3 Bayakoa Stakes on Feb. 15, and will still make her next start in that race when it's rescheduled to the week of Feb. 25-28. Monomoy Girl is also stabled at the Fair Grounds, and worked five furlongs there in 1:01.40 on Feb. 14.

“It hasn't really affected the training for both Essential Quality and Monomoy Girl,” Cox told bloodhorse.com. “They have been working steadily and are ready to run. We worked them this weekend when they were supposed to race and we'll breeze them again this weekend to prep for the races next weekend. They are ready to run. We'll ship them up when the weather clears.”

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