Monomoy Girl eclipsed everyone in 2020, including her stablemates. While the super-mare won all four starts and raced toward a second Breeders’ Cup Distaff victory, a pair of less-distinguished fillies from the same stable had done enough for one season. Shedaresthedevil upset the Kentucky Oaks; Bonny South won the Fair Grounds Oaks. But when both lost races as the favorite late in their 3-year-old seasons, trainer Brad Cox concluded that facing Monomoy Girl in the Distaff was too much to ask. Shedaresthedevil and Bonny South would have their chance in 2021, at age 4. So far, so good. Monomoy Girl is retired, and Shedaresthedevil and Bonny South are picking up the slack. And though Fausto Gutierrez-trained Letruska is the early favorite for the Distaff, Cox is bullish: “We’re looking forward to having two big chances this year.” :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division Shedaresthedevil, 4 for 5 this year including two Grade 1 wins, is still the only horse this season to defeat Letruska. Bonny South finished second to Letruska twice in Grade 1’s and meets her again Sunday in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes at Keeneland. The Distaff field will crystalize after the final two preps on Sunday. Besides the Spinster, the Grade 2 Beldame at Belmont Park is expected to attract Royal Flag and Horologist. In the one Distaff prep last week, Private Mission earned her way into the Distaff, albeit as a longshot, by winning the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita. As for Cox, he will wait until after the Spinster to solidify Distaff plans with Bonny South. “She’s doing great, she has improved with age, but we need to get through this race before we turn our attention to the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. Except for finishing fifth in a slow-pace race at Delaware Park, late-runner Bonny South improved as this year unfolded. She won a Grade 3 in April, and last out she earned a career-top 101 Beyer finishing second to Letruska in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. Bonny South, 4 for 12, is likely for the Distaff pending her Spinster performance. Shedaresthedevil, meanwhile, is fresh off a win and already in the Distaff field, having improved at age 4. “She peaked last year [Sept. 4] in the Kentucky Oaks, and we gave her a shot in the Spinster,” Cox said. She finished third in her final start of the season. “We thought the right thing to do was give her some time, bring her back and campaign her as a 4-year-old with our goal being the Breeders’ Cup Distaff,” Cox said. “I think she’s a bigger, stronger version of herself this year. She’s always been very honest, and trained forward, and super consistent.” After winning four of seven last year while under the radar before the Kentucky Oaks, Shedaresthedevil went high profile this year. She defeated Letruska in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn, and won the Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs. Shedaresthedevil then suffered her only 2021 loss, finishing third in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park. “We didn’t run quite as well as we were looking to at Belmont, but that was around one turn,” Cox said. “But she’s shown up and performed extremely well around two turns.” Shedaresthedevil next shipped to Del Mar, site of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup, and cruised in the two-turn Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch. She followed on Sept. 18 with an odds-on victory under Florent Geroux in the Grade 3 Locust Grove at Churchill. She won by only a neck, but did not need to be her best. “We were using it as a stepping-stone to the Breeders’ Cup,” Cox said. “Florent felt like she was well in hand, and there was more horse there. I think she showed that in the gallop-out. We know we have to show up and run a better race in the Distaff, but we feel like we’re approaching the Distaff like we did the Kentucky Oaks last year.” Cox plans to ship his Breeders’ Cup contingent, which includes early Classic favorites Knicks Go and Essential Quality, to Del Mar on Nov. 1 after final workouts in Kentucky. The Cox runners will gallop at Del Mar into the race. ◗ Private Mission is the third 3-year-old in the likely Distaff field, joining Grade 1 winners Malathaat and Clairiere. Private Mission scored a decisive victory Sunday in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita, winning by 2 1/4 lengths over stablemate As Time Goes By while benefitting from a speed-friendly racetrack. Bob Baffert trains Private Mission, 4 for 5, and As Time Goes By. Baffert said As Time Goes By remains a Distaff candidate for now.