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Breeders’ Cup Distaff Title Defense Unlikely For Champion Monomoy Girl

The two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Distaff appears unlikely to defend her title in 2021, reports bloodhorse.com. While Monomoy Girl is back under tack at WinStar Farm, the champion racemare is not expected to return to trainer Brad Cox's barn for another three weeks, making the first weekend of November a tight target.

“We'll talk it over with (Spendthrift's) Ned Toffey (general manger) and Eric Gustavson (owner) and everyone else to come up with a game plan,” Cox told bloodhorse.com. “The Breeders' Cup would be really tight and I don't know if it's a possibility, but there are some other races out there for her. There's no pressure. She's such an accomplished mare and has done so much, she will only run if she's 100 percent right.”

Winner of the Kentucky Oaks and the Breeders' Cup Distaff in 2018, Monomoy Girl missed all of the 2019 season before returning in 2020 to be crowned divisional champion when undefeated across four starts, including the Breeders' Cup Distaff held at Keeneland.

Monomoy Girl was sold to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at the conclusion of her 2020 racing season, and MyRacehorse leased her 2021 racing rights. MyRacehorse then sold shares in that experience to 10,200 individuals earlier this year. The 6-year-old daughter of Tapizar won the G3 Bayakoa and was second to Letruska in the G1 Apple Blossom thus far this season.

On May 10, MyRacehorse announced that Monomoy Girl was experiencing minor muscle strain and soreness, and would be given 30 days off at WinStar Farm.

Cox named targets like the G1 Cigar Mile, the G1 Clark Handicap, and the G1 Pegasus World Cup as potential future targets for Monomoy Girl.

Moonlight d’Oro on Comeback Trail

Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), taken off the GI Kentucky Oaks trail with a knee chip following a visually impressive score in the GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita Feb. 6, is aiming for a return to Hall of Famer Richard Mandella's barn later this summer with an eye on a fall campaign.

“The surgery went well,” said Joe Mishak, MyRacehorse's Racing Operations Manager. “She's been doing great, filling out and looking really good. Just biding her time, which is standard operating procedure [following surgery], especially for the Mandella barn. The last 30 days or so she's been out at Bonnie Acres [in California] getting treadmill therapy building up her fitness. Hopefully in a couple of weeks if all things remain on course, she should go to an offsite facility to start training and get that foundation at the track. Then a month after that, she'll head back to the Mandella barn in early-to-mid August once she has the fitness.”

Campaigned in partnership with Spendthrift Farm, the $620,000 KEESEP yearling buy earned her diploma at third asking in her two-turn debut with a career-high 87 Beyer Speed Figure at Los Alamitos Dec. 13, then doubled up with a powerful last-to-first tally in the Las Virgenes.

Bred in Kentucky by Stonehaven Steadings, Moonlight d'Oro is a half-sister to the juvenile graded stakes-placed Olive Branch (Speightstown). Moonlight d'Oro's winning dam Venetian Sonata (Bernardini) is a full-sister to GSW Wilburn and SW & GSP La Appassionata and a half-sister to GSW Beethoven (Sky Mesa).

Any intended targets penciled in for Moonlight d'Oro's return to the races?

“We'll see where she is with her training, but it's kind of an awkward time of the year [for a 3-year-old filly to return],” Mishak said. “The surgery went well, but a little bit of extra caution gave her 120 days off rather than 90. Hopefully, she'll be coming back in the October timeframe, and at that stage, I think you're just looking for the right type of race to return in.

Mishak concluded, “She showed early in the year that she was the best 3-year-old filly on the West Coast. When she won the Las Virgenes, she didn't even have her best that day. It was rather exciting to get her to that level. I don't know if we'll make the Breeders' Cup this year–it's probably too close–but we'll have all of next year to have a really top filly in training.”

The post Moonlight d’Oro on Comeback Trail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Spendthrift Farm ‘To Hit The Pause Button’ On Relationship With Bob Baffert

Spendthrift Farm will be removing several horses from the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert following this week's controversy over the test results of Medina Spirit after the Kentucky Derby, reports the Daily Racing Form.

Following Sea, a Spendthrift homebred who had been under consideration for Saturday's Chick Lang at Pimlico, has been transferred to trainer Todd Pletcher and will not run Saturday. In addition, four 2-year-olds recently shipped to Baffert in Southern California will also be moved, likely to trainer Richard Mandella.

“Given the circumstances we thought it was best to hit the pause button,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey told DRF. “I think we need to step back and let's see how things play out. We're not ruling anything out in the future.”

Spendthrift and Baffert teamed up last year to win the Kentucky Derby with Authentic, bringing along thousands of micro-share owners via MyRacehorse. Authentic went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic and be named Champion 3-Year-Old and Horse of the Year before his retirement to stud at Spendthrift.

“Bob gave us the thrill of a lifetime last year,” Toffey continued. “Bob has never had a positive test for us. Given the circumstances, the best thing for the time being is to step back.”

Champion Monomoy Girl Gets A Break, Expected To Return For Second Half Of 2021

Dual champion Monomoy Girl, a gallant second in the G1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park last out, will be given some time away from the racetrack, MyRacehorse announced via email over the weekend. The two-time Breeders' Cup Distaff winner will be turned out for 30 days at WinStar Farm.

The full statement from MyRacehorse is as follows:

“MyRacehorse, after collaborating with our partners, Spendthrift Farm, and trainer Brad Cox, have decided to give Monomoy Girl a brief break from training, with the expectation of the 6-year-old mare returning for a second-half of the year campaign on the racetrack.

“The two-time Eclipse Award champion didn't bounce out of her gutsy second-place finish in last month's Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap as quickly as we would have hoped. While there are no serious physical issues with Monomoy Girl, she recently has been experiencing some minor muscle strains and hamstring soreness.

“After a thorough veterinary work-up, Dr. Wes Sutter of Kentucky Equine Hospital advised us that giving Monomoy Girl a short break from training would be very beneficial for the mare.

“Monomoy Girl will receive her freshening at WinStar Farm in Kentucky, where she will be turned out for 30 days while being hand-walked. Dr. Sutter has also cleared Monomoy Girl to begin a swimming regime in two weeks' time.

“'We fully expect Monomoy Girl to return for a second-half of the year campaign and anticipate more terrific performances to come from our wonderful mare,' said Spendthrift general manager, Ned Toffey. 'We're happy that she will be spending her turnout time at WinStar, which has an amazing facility for horses who are getting a break from training. We look forward to getting Monomoy Girl back to Brad's barn after this brief respite, which we believe will do her a world of good.'”

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