Champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) will make her 2021 debut in the GIII Bayakoa S. Feb. 15 at Oaklawn, trainer Brad Cox told the track's notes team.
A lock to win her second championship after a perfect 2020 season capped by a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in November, the chestnut was purchased by Spendthrift for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale and returned to the Cox barn for a 2021 campaign.
“Honestly, with her breeze this past weekend, she's probably a little ahead of schedule, as far as where I thought she would be,” Cox said. “We never took her out of training. We just backed off of her. She's as good as ever, to be honest with you. She's a monster.”
Monomoy Girl returned to the work tab Dec. 27 at Fair Grounds, covering three furlongs in :37 flat. She breezed a half-mile in :48.80 over a fast track in NOLA Sunday morning.
“She's really training well,” Cox said. “Looks amazing. Her weight's great. Her breeze this weekend was spectacular. If we can continue to see that throughout the year, we're going to have a great year again.”
The Bayakoa is one of the local preps for the Apr. 17 GI Apple Blossom H. Monomoy Girl's stablemate and fellow GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) may make her first appearance of 2021 in the next Apple Blossom prep, the Mar. 13 GII Azeri S.
“Just kind of knocking the dust off of her,” said Cox. “She got a good break, a well-deserved break. No physical issues. Just thought she deserved some time. There was no sense going into the Breeders' Cup. That was really the only thing left. I thought it was a wise decision by the ownership group to just give her the break. Our goal this year is to get her to the Breeders' Cup in San Diego, at Del Mar. We'll work our way back from that.”
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