Monomoy Girl, Gunnevera showcase Kentucky Oaks and Derby talent in 2018 Breeders’ Cup

Nov 04, 2018 Jennifer Caldwell/Brisnet.com

Game Winner and Jaywalk are the “it” horses for next year’s Kentucky Derby (G1) and Oaks (G1) following the 2018 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs on Friday and Saturday.

But let’s not forget about past participants of the famed Run for the Roses and Lilies. How did they fare in this year’s World Championships?

There can be no doubt that MONOMOY GIRL stamped herself as the champion three-year-old filly of 2018 following her scintillating score in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1). The Brad Cox trainee shows only one loss on the year, which in fact came when she was disqualified from winning the Cotillion Stakes (G1) after a stretch duel with rival MIDNIGHT BISOU on September 22.

Monomoy Girl prevailed in this year’s Kentucky Oaks over Canadian Classic queen WONDER GADOT and Midnight Bisou. That pair also showed up for the Distaff on Saturday, with Wonder Gadot leading the way on the backstretch before fading late following a tough season that saw the Mark Casse pupil easily dominate the boys in the Queen’s Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes at Woodbine. Midnight Bisou did better in the Distaff, running third by 1 1/2 lengths.

This year’s Distaff was particularly interesting in that it featured the past two winners of the Kentucky Oaks. ABEL TASMAN captured the 2017 edition but ended up last of 11 in the Distaff on Saturday. Trainer Bob Baffert indicated the filly seems to have lost interest in racing.

“She just quit. She just quit running,” Baffert said following the Distaff. “Sometimes they do that. I thought she was in a good spot, (jockey Mike Smith) got aggressive with her, but she just doesn't want to run anymore it looks like.”

Filling the fifth spot in the Distaff for the second straight year was MOPOTISM, who finished behind Abel Tasman in the 2017 Kentucky Oaks.

A few races after the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a field of 14, including six sophomores, lined up in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Accelerate scored the one-length victory, but rallying fast to challenge late was GUNNEVERA for trainer Antonio Sano.

The gleaming chestnut was not one of the half-dozen sophomores in the field, two of whom ran in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Instead, Gunnevera turned four on January 1 and was part of the older horse brigade in the Classic. He brought with him a 1-2-1 record from five starts this season, including a good second in the Woodward Stakes (G1) on September 1 at Saratoga.

Gunnevera showed heart and courage to rally from 11th on Saturday, only missing by a length on the wire at 30-1. This was his first run back under the Twin Spires since a seventh-place showing in the 2017 Kentucky Derby behind Always Dreaming.

THUNDER SNOW bucked it up at the start of the 2017 Derby, giving a good impression of a Wild West show as he attempted to dislodge jockey Christophe Soumillon. Since then, the bay has proven his mettle in Group 1 contests on both turf and dirt, most notably in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) earlier this year.

He returned to the site of his Derby antics when lining up in the Classic on Saturday and ran a nice third on the wire with Soumillon sticking tight in the saddle.

MENDELSSOHN was part of the 2018 Kentucky Derby brigade, and managed to finish the race, but ran last of 20 after an incredibly rough trip. On Saturday, jockey Ryan Moore sent the sophomore right from the start, and Mendelssohn led the way into the stretch. He finished much better – fifth under the Classic wire – in this second return to Churchill.

Another 1 1/2 lengths behind in sixth in the Classic, LONE SAILOR was also visiting the Twin Spires for the first time since his May adventure in the Derby. The Tom Amoss pupil was eighth on the first Saturday in May under regular rider James Graham and improved on that by two spots here.

All in all, runners from the past two years’ Derby and Oaks have gone on to accomplish much and were out in force Saturday to demonstrate their talents during horse racing’s championships.