Cox stays in 2-year-old filly driver's seat as Muhimma takes Demoiselle

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Muhimma furthered the domination of the 2-year-old filly division this year by trainer Brad Cox with a front-running, one-length victory in Saturday’s Grade 2, $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct.

Sent to the front from her rail position out of the gate by Florent Geroux, Muhimma was able to set comfortable fractions while receiving token pressure from Liam in the Dust, then was able to fend off a late charge from Ballerina d’Oro to win the Demoiselle by a length. It was 6 3/4 lengths back to Liam in the Dust in third.

The win was the third in as many starts for Muhimma, who joined her Cox-trained stablemates Immersive (4 for 4, 3 Grade 1 wins) and Good Cheer (4 for 4 with two stakes wins) as early contenders for next spring’s Kentucky Oaks.

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“I’m proud of what our team’s been able to do with these horses and proud of the horses. We’ve been put in a good position with good fillies and they responded,” Cox said. “And now our job is to turn the page on this year and try to execute next year.”

Muhimma, a daughter of Munnings owned by Shadwell Stable, won her first two starts, both at Churchill Downs, by a combined 13 lengths. Saturday was her first time shipping, going around two turns and 1 1/8 miles and it all certainly seemed to suit her well.

Both Geroux and Cox wanted Muhimma to take advantage of her inside draw and early speed to take command of the race early on. She ran a half-mile in 48.54 seconds, six furlongs in 1:12.55, a mile in 1:37.41 and covered the 1 1/8-miles in 1:49.84, which was .53 of a second faster than Poster’s final time for the Remsen for 2-year-old males.

“From the one-hole, break and get a good forward position,” Cox said were his instructions to Geroux. “I thought off the speed ratings we had one of the faster horses in the race so we wanted to try and take control of the race. I thought Florent did a good job of that

“First time for a 2-year-old going that far I thought [the fractions] were obviously quick enough and she fended off a horse making a run at her down the lane,” Cox added. “So she showed some determination, she showed she could handle the mile and an eighth.”

Muhimma (90 Beyer Speed Figure) was bet early and often, returning $2.80 as the 2-5 favorite in a 10-horse field.

Ballerina d’Oro, a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, was making her first start on dirt after going 1 for 3 on turf for trainer Chad Brown. Last early, she knifed her way through the field, came with a late run, lugged in a touch in the stretch while finishing a clear second-best.

“This horse ran good, the winner’s a good horse, she got away with soft fractions, we had to continually steady down the backside,” Brown said. “Between the post and the pace it just really worked against her today, but I’m proud of her.”

Muhimma earned 10 points toward the Kentucky Oaks, while Ballerina d’Oro earned five. Both fillies will likely be stabled at Payson Park in Florida for the winter while their connections come up with plans for their 3-year-old campaigns.

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