Midnight Bisou wins the Cotillion via DQ
Parx stewards rule that Monomoy Girl impeded opposition in stretch run
The rematch between two powerhouse 3-year-old fillies was not decided by Monomoy Girl or Midnight Bisou in Saturday’s $1 million Cotillion at Parx Racing. This one went to the judges and the Parx stewards disqualified Monomoy Girl from first to second in what appeared to be an unpopular decision in front of a packed track (there was no attendance given as the track allows everyone in for free).
Midnight Bisou and jockey Mike Smith were booed as they entered the winner’s circle. Monomoy Girl had won the race by a neck, but Smith claimed foul, saying that Monomoy Girl had bothered his horse inside the eighth pole.
It looked like Monomoy Girl, the 1-2 favorite, was on her way to her sixth win of the year without a loss and fifth straight Grade I when she and jockey Florent Geroux barreled into the stretch with a 11/2 length lead. But then she started wandering around the track and that got her in trouble.
Midnight Bisou, sent off at 4-1, was on her inside at the eighth pole and she suddenly moved to the outside. Smith would say later that Monomoy Girl moved to the inside and impeded Midnight Bisou’s momentum. He then was carried out further on the track by his rival and Smith is adamant that cost Midnight Bisou the win.
“All you can ask for any horse is a fair shot down the lane, and I don’t think we got that,” Smith said. “I hate it being that way. They both are deserving winners.”
Geroux was tight-lipped as he left the track, saying he thought the stewards decision could have gone either way. He did admit that his filly began to wander around when she made the lead.
“Right call? I don’t know,” Geroux said. “I am not the steward. It is disappointing. This was a million dollar race, a Grade I. I thought our filly was best today.”
Monomoy Girl was coming off a win in the Grade I Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga on July 22; Midnight Bisou was second in that race and third in the Alabama, another Grade I at the Spa.
Midnight Bisou had won five of eight starts this year and is unbeaten (4-for-4) at the 11/16-mile Cotillion distance.
Jeff Bloom, the majority owner of Midnight Bisou, said the disqualification was a “no-brainer” once he saw the head-on replay.
“It’s tough to take a horse down in big races, any race,” Bloom said in the winner’s circle. “But the fact of the matter is our filly was hindered substantially.”
Third place in the race went to Wonder Gadot, who was last seen finishing last in the Travers at Saratoga against colts.
Pennsylvania Derby
Mckinzie, at one time considered to be the best 3-year-old in the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, made his first start in six months a winning one when he won the Grade I, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby by 13/4 lengths as the 2-1 favorite.
Ridden by Smith, Mckinzie has won four of five career starts. His only loss came via DQ in his last start, the Grade II San Felipe. After that, Baffert discovered the horse had a hind leg injury and was off the Triple Crown trail.
“If you had asked me on Jan. 1, I would have told you we were going to win the Kentucky Derby with that horse,” Baffert said.
When Mckinzie got hurt, Baffert didn’t miss a beat as Justify stepped in and won the Triple Crown.
Mckinzie, who could be on the way to the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4 next, was timed in 1:52,05. Axelrod was second and Trigger Warning, the longest shot on the board at 81-1 and the sixth-place finisher in the Travers, was third.