Midnight Bisou has Fleur de Lis as first option

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The connections of Midnight Bisou are leaning toward the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs as the next race for the star mare, although the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park is still in play.

Midnight Bisou, who has been the No. 1-rated horse every week in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association poll since March 10, has been “training gorgeously” at Churchill, trainer Steve Asmussen said this week. The next race for the 5-year-old mare will be her first since a runner-up finish in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 29.

The 1 1/8-mile Fleur de Lis will be run June 27, closing day of the 26-day Churchill spring meet. The 1 1/16-mile Phipps will be run two weeks earlier, on June 13, on Belmont’s recently revised stakes schedule.

“Timing-wise, the Fleur de Lis is probably better,” Asmussen said. “That’s our first option.”

A winner of 12 of 20 starts and $7.25 million, Midnight Bisou is owned by the Bloom Racing Stable of Jeff Bloom.

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“The Churchill race is what we’d been focused on, but with all the changes and everything, we want to keep our options open,” Bloom said. “We’re keenly aware of how much she loves Belmont,” referring to her perfect record in three starts there, all open-lengths romps in the 2018 Mother Goose, the 2019 Phipps, and the 2019 Beldame.

Midnight Bisou was scheduled to breeze Thursday at Churchill in what was to be her sixth work since returning from a short break following the Saudi race.

The Phipps or Fleur de Lis could represent a fifth clash between Midnight Bisou and her nemesis, Monomoy Girl, the 5-year-old mare who returned from an 18-month layoff May 16 with a strong allowance win at Churchill. In four meetings as 3-year-olds in 2018, Monomoy Girl finished ahead of Midnight Bisou every time, although one of those, the Cotillion at Parx Racing, was reversed by disqualification.

Trainer Brad Cox said Wednesday he also is considering the Phipps and Fleur de Lis as the next race for Monomoy Girl, “or we might even wait” for the Grade 2 Ruffian on July 11 at Belmont.

Meanwhile, Asmussen said he has yet to decide on a next start for Pneumatic, who was third behind Maxfield and Ny Traffic last Saturday in the Matt Winn when being defeated for the first time in three career starts.

“I thought he put in a solid performance,” Asmussen said, “but obviously he’ll need to improve. I do think there’s improvement to be had there. Clearly that was a stronger field than what he’d met before.”

One other Asmussen star, Finite, recently returned to Churchill following a short rehabilitation stint that followed surgery to remove an ankle chip. David Fiske, racing manager for the filly’s breeder and co-owner, Winchell Thoroughbreds, said the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks remains possible. Finite, a winner in 5 of 8 starts, underwent the surgery after finishing fourth as the 3-10 favorite in the March 21 Fair Grounds Oaks.