Division Rankings: Monomoy Girl poised to continue historic run

At the end of each racing season, racing fans are used to the inevitable: Many of their favorite horses are off to retirement. Some are expected and planned, some are related to diminished skills and age, but others are off to the breeding shed while seemingly in their prime. The lure of the financial benefits of breeding outweigh the risk of running.

The conclusion of 2020 was no different; several stars of the past season were retired. Some were somewhat surprising, others were not.

Few fans would have had complaints had the new connections of Monomoy Girl, Spendthrift Farm, chosen to retire their future Hall of Famer. She had just won her second Breeders’ Cup Distaff and was turning 6 years old. But after being purchased for $9.5 million it was immediately announced that she would remain with trainer Brad Cox for another campaign in 2021.

This was welcome news to all racing fans, most of whom assumed that Monomoy Girl was headed to retirement.

Now things get very interesting for Monomoy Girl from a historical perspective.

Monomoy Girl has crossed the finish line behind one horse in her entire 15 race career, and that came 1,174 days ago. Her other “loss” was a disqualification in the 2018 Cotillion (G1) where she crossed the wire a neck in front of Midnight Bisou but was placed second because of interference in the stretch run.

What makes her career all the more remarkable is that she missed her entire 4-year-old season because of physical setbacks. Few thought she could return in 2020, after being off for more than a year, to accomplish what she did.

But now, here we are in 2021. Monomoy Girl is scheduled to make her seasonal debut at Oaklawn in the rescheduled Bayakoa Stakes (G3) on Feb. 20. If things go well there, it will be all systems go for her next start, the Apple Blossom, also at Oaklawn.

The great Zenyatta finished her racing career with 19 wins from 20 starts. Zenyatta won 13 Grade 1 races and ran against the boys twice, but Zenyatta rarely traveled outside of her home state of California.

Monomoy Girl will likely surpass 20 starts this season should she stay healthy. With seven Grade 1 wins, she will be hard pressed to reach 13. But Monomoy Girl has won at six race tracks (Oaklawn would be seven) in several states.

There has never been a three-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Royal Delta came the closest after back-to-back wins in 2011 and 2012; she finished fourth in 2013. So Monomoy Girl certainly has history to chase there.

If she comes back to the races as the same horse we saw last year, will her connections try her against males? So far, they have not ruled it out. If I had to guess, it likely would come in the form of a nine-furlong race, perhaps the Whitney this summer at Saratoga.

For Monomoy Girl this season, it’s all gravy. She is chasing history. I applaud her connections for keeping her in training when she is at the top of her game. Enjoy her and appreciate her — she is one of the rare ones that we are lucky enough to be able to watch run more more than one or two seasons.

With that, here is a look at this week's Division Rankings.

Older dirt males

1. Knicks Go – Simply ran them off their feet in the Pegasus. With wins in his last four starts, there is only one horse I think who can run with him: Charlatan.

2. Charlatan – His Malibu win in December was sublime, and now he heads to the Saudi Cup, where an early-season showdown with Knicks Go would have the racing world's attention.

3. Jesus' Team – Yes, he belongs here. He deserves this No. 3 ranking. I was not a believer, but now I am. His runner-up in the Pegasus was solid, and prior he was again runner-up to Knicks Go in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

4. Maxfield – Unbeaten in four starts, he has trouble staying healthy enough to race but did return from a seven-month layoff in December to win the Tenacious Stakes at Gulfstream. Set to return to the racetrack for a race this Saturday at the Fair Grounds.

5. Happy Saver  – Won the Jockey Club Gold Cup last year at age 3, expected back this season, but still not sure he belongs ahead of the others ranked below.

Next 5: By My Standards, Tacitus, Performer, Title Ready, Express Train.

Older dirt females

1. Monomoy Girl – A certain Hall of Famer, she won her second Breeders' Cup Distaff. She now has the remarkable record of 13 wins in 15 starts. Back on the work tab now at age 6, she is scheduled to make her first start at Oaklawn in the Bayakoa (G3) on Feb. 20.

2. Swiss Skydiver – The Preakness winner over the Horse of the Year Authentic in 2020, she will be back this season. Her 2020 season was historic, but history shows that she will be hard pressed to maintain that form at age 4. Might run in the Saudi Cup.

3. Gamine – Dominant winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, she will be back in the spring. I expect her connections to try to stretch her out once again.

4. Sanenus – This daughter of Scat Daddy was scintillating in the La Cañada (G3) in her first start of 2021. She was bred in Chile, and her first eight starts took place in Chile. She came to the U.S. last summer and has run four times, getting better each time. Now fully acclimated, she could make noise in this division. We have seen several future female stars in this division come from South America before.

5. Valiance – Won the Spinster last fall, then was a very good runner-up to Monomoy Girl in the Breeders' Cup. She is expected back in 2021.

Next 5:  Shedaresthedevil, Harvest Moon, Letruska, Vexatious, Hard Not to Love.

3-year-old males

1. Essential Quality – The Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner won the Eclipse and is slated to return in the Southwest at Oaklawn on Feb. 20. Has a hold on this spot for now.

2. Jackie's Warrior – He starts the year off here at No. 2 after a stellar juvenile campaign where he did very little wrong. The two turns might have been his undoing in the Breeders' Cup. He had the lead turning for home but yielded in the stretch and finished fourth, beaten a little over three lengths. Will get the chance to prove himself right out of the gate this season as he too is scheduled to run in the Southwest.

3. Keepmeinmind - Flattered the top one with his race after his Breeders' Cup Juvenile third-place finish, a win in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes in late November. Will join the top two in what would be the deepest edition of the Southwest in that race's history.

4. Life is Good – Newcomer broke his maiden in late November and then won the season's first test, the one-mile Sham (G3) at Santa Anita. It was a nice race, and the runner-up did come back to hold on and win the Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita. But still, I am skeptical of him going longer.

5. Medina Spirit– Winer of the Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, he was previously runner-up to Life is Good in the Sham. Held off Hot Rod Charlie in the Lewis, not sure he will like longer but he deserves this spot for now.

Next 5: Greatest Honour, Hot Rod Charlie, Midnight Bourbon, Risk Taking, Concert Tour.

3-year-old females

1. Vequist – The two turns and 8 1/2 furlongs of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is exactly what this gal needed as she was two lengths clear of Dayoutoftheoffice for the win. She finished her 2020 season with two Grade 1 wins. Will start her season at Gulfstream in the Davona Dale on Feb. 27.

2. Dayoutoftheoffice – The Frizette (G1) winner ran her race in the Breeders' Cup, but she couldn't hold off Vequist this time around.  Remember, she defeated Vequist in the Frizette, but that was at a mile around one turn. She too could be headed to the Davona Dale.

3. Girl Daddy – The best of the Midwest heading into last fall's Breeders' Cup, Girl Daddy looked like a contender as they entered the stretch in the Juvenile Fillies but was beaten a nose for the place spot by Dayoutoftheoffice.

4. Aunt Pearl – Three grass starts and three daylight wins. Her win last out in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf came at the expense of 13 others, five of whom were from overseas. Look for her to run overseas this season.

5. Travel Column – Third in the Alcibiades (G1), her stakes debut, to Simply Ravishing, she avenged that loss in her last start, a win in the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs.

Next 5: Moonlight d'Oro, Malathaat, Varda, Simply Ravishing, Campanelle.

Turf males

1. Channel Maker – Love the move by his connections to possibly point him to Saudi Arabia and Dubai for his first two starts of 2021. Back on the work tab now, and he is expected to run next in either the 2,100-meter, $1 million Middle Distance Turf Cup or the Long Distance Turf Handicap, run over 3,000 meters, both in Saudi Arabia next month.

2. Zulu Alpha – Missed the Breeders' Cup with an injury but was one of the best in this division in 2020. Will return in 2021.

3. Colonel Liam – Rolled late to win the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) by a neck. Prior to that, he won the ungraded Tropical Park Derby. The win in the Pegasus came over an extremely weak field, as Grade 1 events go.

4. Ivar – The winner of the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) last season, he came running at the end of the Breeders' Cup Mile but was too late as he finished fourth, beaten less than two lengths. Will be back in 2021.

5. Mo Forza – Was brilliant in a short two-race, injury-shortened campaign in 2020. Has a difficult time staying healthy and will likely fall out of these rankings again as he is now sidelined until the summer because of another physical setback.

Next 5: Arklow, United, Factor This, Domestic Spending, Laccario.

Turf females

1. Mean Mary - Occupied this spot for a few weeks in 2020, she starts off 2021 at No. 1 based on her stellar campaign from last year. If she runs like she did in 2020, she is the favorite for the Eclipse in this division.

2. Harvey's Lil Goil – She almost won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf last season at age 3. She is back in 2021 and will be a player in this division.

3. Viadera - Winner of her last three starts, which included the Matriarch (G1) at Del Mar in late November.

4. Mucho Unusual - Now in the best form of her 19-race career, she has won two graded stakes in the last month. Won the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive last fall as well.

5. Jolie Olimpica – Returned from a six-month layoff to finish runner-up in the Las Cienegas (G3) a couple weeks back. Was one of the best in this division in 2020.

Next 5: Blowout, Civil Union, Quick, Magic Attitude, Always Shopping.

Male sprinters

1. Whitmore – Nearly four and a half years after his 19th-place finish to Nyquist in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, this guy wins the biggest race of his career, the Breeders' Cup Sprint, last fall. Now an 8-year-old, can he still compete in Grade 1 company? I wouldn't bet against it. Will make his return at the Oaklawn meet.

2. Charlatan – Has to be ranked here for now, but I doubt his connections will keep him sprinting. If they did, he would likely take over the top spot. Was sensational in his last, a win in the 7-furlong Malibu (G1) at Santa Anita in December.

3. C Z Rocket – His five-race win streak came to end in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, but only Whitmore beat him first to the wire. Won the Pat O'Brien last August and the Santa Anita Sprint Championship in his prior two starts. He is set to make his 2021 debut at Oaklawn.

4. Firenze Fire - Now a 6-year-old, he continues to fire in almost every race. A winner of three graded stakes last season, he finished a good third in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Was recently a close second in the Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park in late December.

5. Nashville - Might be a bit high in this spot, but I will forgive his last out loss to Charlatan in the Malibu and give him another chance. He was sensational in three prior starts sprinting.

Next 5: Wildman Jack, Sleepy Eyes Todd, Yaupon, Vertical Threat, Empire of Gold.

Female sprinters

1. Gamine – Simply put, she is the best sprinter, male or female, in the country. Should be back in the spring, but connections may try and stretch her out again.

2. Bell's the One – Was last seen running third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint last fall. Now back in training for a 2021 campaign, her first planned race this year is the Madison (G1) at Keeneland on April 3.

3. Frank's Rockette – Winner of three graded stakes last season, she started 2021 off with a win in the American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

4. Venetian Harbor - A winner of two Grade 2 stakes last year, the Las Virgenes (G2) at Santa Anita and the Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland, she is eying a spring return to the races.

5. Sconsin - Ran well when fourth in last falls Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint; previously won the Grade 2 Eight Belles at Churchill Downs.

Next 5: Amy's Challenge, Wildwood's Beauty, Pacific Gale, Hello Beautiful, Bella Aurora