MONOMOY GIRL - The La Troienne G1 - 35th Running - 09-04-20 - R11 - CD - Finish 02

Oaks Undercard Highlighted by Monomoy Girl’s Win in the La Troienne.

Mark BlankenbakerSeptember 5, 2020

Derby22 views

La Troienne

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group and Bethlehem Stables’ Monomoy Girl, the champion female runner of 2018, continued to show her brilliance as she cruised to a 1 ¾-length victory over pacesetting Lady Kate in the 35th running of the $500,000 La Troienne Presented by Oak Grove Racing & Gaming (GI) for fillies and mares.

Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Florent Geroux, Monomoy Girl covered the mile and a sixteenth on a fast main track in 1:42.14.

Winner of the Kentucky Oaks (GI) and Breeders’ Cup Distaff (GI) during her championship campaign in 2018, Monomoy Girl notched the sixth Grade I victory of her career and boosted her career bankroll to $3,386,818 with Friday’s winner’s share of $300,700.

Lady Kate shot out to an early lead and was quickly joined by Risky Mandate as Monomoy Girl was pushed four wide going into the first turn. On the backstretch, Monomoy Girl settled into third while racing in the clear as Lady Kate produced fractions of :23.43, :46.26 and 1:10.48.

On the far turn, Monomoy Girl began to close in on the leaders and by the eighth pole had collared Lady Kate and drew off to the victory.

Now sporting a record of 14-12-2-0, Monomoy Girl is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Tapizar out of the Henny Hughes mare Drumette.

Monomoy Girl returned $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10. Lady Kate, ridden by Javier Castellano, returned $7.60 and $4.20 and finished 2 ¾ lengths in front of Horologist who paid $3.40 to show under John Velazquez.

It was another two lengths back to Saracosa who was followed in order by Vexatious, She’s a Julie, With Dignity and Risky Mandate.

LA TROIENNE QUOTES

Florent Geroux (winning rider, Monomoy Girl) — “There was no doubt. She gave us every indication in the morning that she was back at a top level. In the Ruffian, when she beat Vexatious pretty easily and then Vexatious came back and beat Midnight Bisou, it gave us a better line from there. Even if it wasn’t for that, she’s been working extremely well in the morning. There is no doubt she is a champion horse and definitely a horse of a lifetime. “There was a little bit of congestion going into the first turn, but I had a nice outside post. I was never worried. I was on the best horse and we had a great trip. I just had to push the button when she was ready.”

Brad Cox (winning trainer, Monomoy Girl) — “She’s the only horse I get nervous running. Once I leg up Florent (Geroux) it’s 10 minutes of anxiety. He did have to work on her a little bit to clear off from Lady Kate. She’s a true champion and is able to overcome a four-wide trip into the first turn. She’s the horse of a lifetime. The way she’s trained since the spring, since April, is when she took off.”

Javier Castellano (rider, Lady Kate, second) — “I love the way she did it today. She broke so well out of the gate and I just let her do her own thing. The good thing is she’ll rate beautifully on the lead. That’s what I was looking for, I know Monomoy Girl was much the best but my filly ran a really good race. I think she was second best today and I’m very satisfied with the way she did it. She ran so good. I had a lot of confidence turning for home but when I saw Monomoy Girl, she went by. I wasn’t disappointed in my filly because she responded too. Everything I asked for, she gave it to me. But Monomoy Girl was much the best.”

Eddie Kenneally (trainer, Lady Kate, second) — “We were delighted with that. That was a big effort. She didn’t get beat very far. It was a good effort. We were delighted, absolutely. Grade 1, that means a lot.”

(On Breeders’ Cup Distaff?) We’ll get with Brad (Anderson), the owner, and we’ll come up with a plan, but hopefully so.”

Brad Anderson (owner, Lady Kate, second) — “That was crazy. I’m so proud of her. I thought she was going to stop at the top of the stretch, and she just kept going. Monomoy Girl, come on. We gave her everything she wanted. It’s just nice because we had to take our time with her, we’ve been patient. It’s nice to see them finally run their race, get the break you want and get everything you wanted. And here we got beat by a better horse but we ran our race. Grade 1 on our pedigree, stakes-winner last time. That’s huge. That’s huge for me. That’s the most expensive filly I ever bought ($485,000 yearling). And now I can thank my wife for letting me spend that kind of money.”

By My Standards Wins the Alysheba

Allied Racing Stable’s By My Standards forged to the front in upper stretch and pulled away to post a 1 ¾-length victory over Owendale to win the 17th running of the $400,000 Alysheba presented by Sentient Jet (GII) for 4-year-olds and up.

Trained by Bret Calhoun and ridden by Gabriel Saez, By My Standards covered the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:42.24.

By My Standards tracked a leisurely pace of :25.71 and :49.93 set by Mr Freeze and moved at the leader along with Owendale at the top of the stretch. By My Standards took over quickly, repulsed a bid from Owendale and drew off to notch his fourth Grade II victory.

The victory was worth $245,520 and increased By My Standards’ earnings to $1,764,430 record of 12-6-4-1. By My Standards is a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Goldencents out of the Muqtarib mare A Jealous Woman.

By My Standards returned $5, $3 and $2.40. Owendale, ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $6 and $4 and finished a head in front of Silver Dust who paid $3.80 to show under Adam Beschizza.

It was another three-quarters of a length back to defending champion McKinzie with Title Ready and Mr Freeze completing the order of finish.

ALYSHEBA QUOTES

Gabriel Saez (winning rider, By My Standards) — “A little bit out of the gate, I see (Manny) Franco trying to get going (on Mr Freeze). I said, ‘OK, he’s going to go. I’m going to stay in here close. It was not really fast on the front end, but when it was time to get running around the half-mile pole, he picked up an extra gear. Each time I asked him to give me that acceleration, he did. I was really confident in him today. I was expecting him to run a huge race today, and here we are. I’m glad we got the job done. I’m looking forward to the Breeders’ Cup. Fingers crossed and hope for the best.”

Bret Calhoun (winning trainer, By My Standards) – “Winning a race like this at Churchill is always special for our entire team. This horse got in some interesting pace scenarios in the last two starts and today Gabe (Saez) gave him the perfect ride and sat a perfect trip the entire way around there. It’s kind of weird to think the Alysheba is a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) but we’re going to go with it and hope to get there in November.”

Brad Cox (trainer, Owendale, second) — “There was no pace. I didn’t really know what to expect. Going into it, I didn’t think there was going to be much pace on paper and then obviously there was none. I am finding out about this horse … that he doesn’t really like kickback. He likes being out in the clear. He’ll run, but he’s not going to take it over the span of 5-6 furlongs and then expect to run on. He ran good, I was proud of the effort. He was beaten by a very, very good horse here. After the last race here (fifth in the Grade II Stephen Foster on June 27), I was kind of wondering where we belong in the handicap division and he put himself back in the mix. Very pleased, I was glad he got it turned around. Just his third race this year so hopefully we’ll see what happens coming out of this.”

Adam Beschizza (rider, Silver Dust, third) – “He ran his usual solid performance. I’m delighted for Bret (Calhoun). He’s been looking for redemption for a while with that horse (By My Standards). Silver Dust (also trained by Calhoun) is always knocking on the door. He always brings home a check. I’m sure his day is right around the corner.”

Sconsin Wins the Eight Belles

Lloyd Madison Farms IV’s homebred Sconsin overhauled favored Four Graces at the eighth pole to win the 65th running of the $300,000 Eight Belles Presented by TwinSpires.com (GII) for 3-year-old fillies by 2 ¼ lengths.

Trained by Greg Foley and ridden by James Graham, Sconsin covered the seven furlongs on a fast main track in 1:21.30.

Mundaye Call and Four Graces dueled through early fractions of :22.11 and :44.14 as Sconsin trailed in the field five. On the far turn, Sconsin began to pick off horses, drew even with Four Graces at midstretch and drew off for the victory.

Sconsin, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Include out of the Tiznow mare Sconnie, earned $186,000 with the victory to increase her bankroll to $301,512 with a record of 8-3-2-1.

Sconsin returned $16.40, $3.60 and $2.40. Four Graces, ridden by Julien Leparoux, returned $2.60 and $2.10 and finished 1 ¾

lengths in front of Never Forget who paid $3.80 to show under Javier Castellano.

It was another length back to Mundaye Call who was followed by Extra Effort.

EIGHT BELLES QUOTES

James Graham (winning rider, Sconsin) — “She ran huge. She likes this racetrack evidently. They ran fast in front of her and she picked them off. Can’t ask for any more than that. The two favorites are speed horses, so all you can hope is that they hook up and kill each other off. My filly was just happier today. Those two had pace pressure and we just finished them off.”

Greg Foley (winning trainer, Sconsin) – “When this race came up on paper we sort of thought the pace scenario could work in our favor. This filly was very impressive at Keeneland against Four Graces. She got a great ride by James (Graham) and cruised home. It’s very exciting winning with a filly like this on such a big stage as the Kentucky Oaks. Hopefully we can do it again tomorrow with Major Fed in the Derby.”

Julien Leparoux (rider, Four Graces, second) – “She ran a good race. We had speed, the other one had speed. She was maybe a little fresh but other than that, I tried to rate her but she was taking the bit. She ran a good race though.”

Ian Wilkes (trainer, Four Graces, second) — “The filly was a little fresh today, but let’s not take anything away from the winner. The winner ran her race, she ran her race. That filly’s been knocking on the door. Every race, she runs her race and she’s right there. It looked like it was going to be the two of us (favorites) going out front and hope we didn’t set it up. But the other filly ran good. I’m proud of my horse, she didn’t quit. My filly runs her race. I’ve got to let her run her race. I freshened her up, I backed off her. I don’t want to make excuses today. My filly ran good.”

DIAMOND OOPS WINS TWIN SPIRES TURF SPRINT

Diamond 100 Racing Club, Amy Dunne, D P Racing and Patrick Biancone Racing’s Diamond Oops found racing room along the rail in deep stretch to edge favored Extravagant Kid by a neck to win the 26th running of the $250,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint Presented by Sysco (GII).

Trained by Patrick Biancone and ridden by Florent Geroux, Diamond Oops covered the 5 ½ furlongs on a Matt Winn Turf Course rated as good in 1:04.18.

The victory was the fifth of the afternoon for Geroux who took the day’s final three races with scores in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) on Shedaresthedevil and the La Troienne (GI) on Monomoy Girl.

Diamond Oops is a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Lookin At Lucky out of the Whywhywhy mare Patriotic Viva. The winner’s share of $144,150 increased Diamond Oops’ earnings to $948,590 with a record of 15-6-3-1.

The Twin Spires Turf Sprint marked a return to the grass for Diamond Oops whose most recent turf start was last October with a runner-up finish in the Shadwell Turf Mile (GI) at Keeneland.

Diamond Oops returned $10, $4.40 and $3.40. Extravagant Kid, ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, returned $3.40 and $3 with Just Might finishing a length back in third under Colby Hernandez and paying $5.40 to show.

It was another neck back to Chaps who was followed in order by Real News, Smart Remark, Carotari, Jazzy Times, Chief Cicatriz, Tell Your Daddy, Fielder and Wellabled.

TWIN SPIRES TURF SPRINT QUOTES

Florent Geroux (winning rider, Diamond Oops) — “He ran big. He’s an amazing horse. Patrick (Biancone) always told me this horse has a little bit of some kind of physical problems, but he has the heart of a champion. He’ll run on any kind of surface, any distance, from six furlongs to a mile. We saw him last year when he almost pulled it off in the (Grade1) Shadwell Turf Mile. I have no idea what’s next for him, because he runs turf, he runs dirt, he does everything.”

Brendan Walsh (trainer, Extravagant Kid, second) — “He ran well. Looked like he had the race won. He did that the one time he got beat here at Churchill, he made the front a little too soon. But in fairness to (jockey) Tyler (Gaffalione), he thought he had everybody covered. You can’t just sit on him. He had to go with it, and we got caught out. But hat’s off to the winner. They won the race. But he showed up again. We can’t ask for much more than that. It would have been nice to win, but there you go.”

Sharing Much Wins the Edgewood

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable’s Sharing grabbed the lead in upper stretch and fended off a late bid by Hendy Woods to score by 1 ¼ lengths in the 36th running of the $300,000 Edgewood Presented by Forcht Bank (GII) for 3-year-old fillies.

Trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Manny Franco, Sharing covered the mile on a Matt Winn Turf Course rated as good in 1:36.87.

With the winner’s share of $182,280, Sharing increased her earnings to $1,038,751 with a record of 7-5-1-1. It is the second graded stakes victory for Sharing who won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GI) at Santa Anita.

Sharing is a Maryland-bred daughter of Speightstown out of the Pleasantly Perfect mare Shared Account.

Sharing returned $3.20, $2.40 and $2.10. Hendy Woods, ridden by John Velazquez, returned $3.40 and $2.60 and finished 2 ½ lengths in front of Lucky Betty who paid $3.60 to show under Declan Cannon.

It was another length back to In Good Spirits who was followed in order by Pranked, Walk In Marrakesh (IRE) and Mariafoot (FR).

EDGEWOOD QUOTES

Manny Franco (winning rider, Sharing) — “She has tactical speed. She broke out of there good and put me in a position where I wanted to go. After that, she knows how to get it done. She is so nice and has a really good turn of foot. She is very professional.”

Graham Motion (winning trainer, Sharing) — “I can’t lie, I was pretty anxious about it because she was coming off a long trip and a long break. But she’s so classy, she makes us all look good I think. She had a great work last weekend and Manny (Franco) gave her a perfect ride. It couldn’t have set up any better quite honestly.

“I figured she probably would be (a little fresh). The last thing I said was just tell Manny to keep her settled. She hasn’t run for a while so it’s not surprising but she’s never overly anxious. She’s such a pro.

“The only question I have in my mind is how far she wants to go. She obviously loves this distance. The next race would be 1 1/8 miles if we go to the QE2 at Keeneland. I don’t know if she wants to go that far, I don’t know why she wouldn’t, but she seems awfully good going a mile. I think the QE2 is a race anyone with a good 3-year-old filly wants to go. I’m so tickled to get a race under her now because this makes it easier going forward now we’ve got this level of fitness. And I can’t say enough about working with Aron (Wellman) and Antony (Beck). I feel like we’ve called the right shots and it’s because of them, they’ve never put any pressure on me.”

John Velazquez (rider, Hendy Woods, second) – “She ran really well. She’s looking at the infield and everything. She’s not kind of settled behind the horses there. But finally she got settled on the second turn. I made a run with her. A good horse beat her today.”

Mark Casse (trainer, Hendy Woods, second) – “Very pleased. I want to talk to (jockey) Johnny (Velazquez) because twice he checked her and fell back in the saddle. I don’t know if that cost us anything but definitely when you run against a filly like that (Sharing) and run second, there is no shame.”

Declan Cannon (rider, Lucky Betty, third) — “She kind of was not liking the soft ground, but I got in behind Sharing down the back and she made one run. She tried hard. I wish it was harder ground because she may have gotten a lot closer to Sharing, but my hat’s off to the winner. She’s the best in the country right now.”