Shifman: Trio of females join in the Horse of the Year race

Monomoy Girl is ranked again in the latest NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll after her triumphant return to the races over the weekend at Churchill Downs. Along with Midnight Bisou and Ce Ce, there are three older dirt females in the Top 10, evidencing it's one of the toughest divisions in racing.

The champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, Monomoy Girl had been away since she won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff to cap that season. During that year when Monomoy Girl won six of seven starts, her only defeat came when she was disqualified from first to second in the Cotillion (G1) at Parx Racing. Accordingly, she was ranked number four in the final poll.

It took trainer Brad Cox a year and a half to get the daughter of Tapizar back to competition, and he liked what he saw after Monomoy Girl powered away in allowance optional claiming company.

“I felt very confident when she came off the turn in front,” Cox said. “It was a great race off the layoff. It was very positive seeing her be able to rate behind horses like that.”

Monomoy Girl's return measured one-turn mile against a field of seven. As a mature 5-year-old, she was able to rally from off the pace to win by almost three lengths. Regular rider Florent Geroux noticed the difference.

“She was able to rate a lot easier today than when she was 3 years old,” Geroux said. “She gave us all the signs in the morning that she was ready. I think it is on to bigger things.”

Monomoy Girl immediately moved to the No. 8 position in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, a snapshot of the Horse of the Year race, and received votes at as high as No. 2 from a panel of journalists and broadcasters.

As the champion older dirt female of 2019, Midnight Bisou has climbed from the No. 2 spot to open this season and now sits atop the rankings. In her only start of the year, she finished second in an internationally strong race against males. The Saudi Cup's winner, Maximum Security, dropped down the poll after former trainer Jason Servis was indicted on allegations of providing a banned substance to his horses.

Steve Asmussen has Midnight Bisou back in serious training in Kentucky. She shows four works since April 23 at Keeneland and this week moved to Churchill Downs, where she could make her next start. A stakes schedule is also pending in New York.

The 4-year-old Ce Ce remains at No. 5 in the rankings based on her two Grade 1 wins this year in the Beholder Mile and the Apple Blossom. The Michael McCarthy-trained filly has quickly built a strong resume, but it's fair to say expectations of voters are that Midnight Bisou and Monomoy Girl will ultimately contend for championship honors once again.

The end result of the Top Thoroughbred Poll is to identify the best horse in the country when December comes along. Since the turn of the century, three fillies and one mare were named Horse of the Year: Azeri (2002), Rachel Alexandra (2009), Zenyatta (2010) and Havre de Grace (2011).

This week’s poll indicates that Midnight Bisou, Ce Ce and Monomoy Girl are in a position to contend for that same top honor heading into the second half of 2020.