Shadwell Stable's Muhimma, a dominant winner through two career starts, steps into stakes company for the first time Dec. 7 as she faces nine competitors in the $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack.
Winning both starts by a combined 13 lengths, the daughter of Munnings looks to be another weapon in the arsenal of Brad Cox's 2-year-old fillies. Cox trains the top two point earners on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks in Immersive and Good Cheer. A victory with Muhimma Saturday would give him five victories with three different fillies on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) trail through the first eight qualifiers. The top five Demoiselle finishers will receive points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
Muhimma will face two new challenges: stretching from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles and breaking from the rail. Cox is confident she will handle both.
"I think naturally she'll break and be forward," Cox said. "We gave her two good runs around one turn, but we always thought she'd stretch. I'm looking forward to giving her an opportunity around two turns."
A familiar face will break beside her in Storyteller Racing and Micha Schroeck's Liam in the Dust. Runner-up in September's Pocahontas Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, the Rodolphe Brisset trainee was beaten 5 1/2 lengths by Muhimma when second in allowance company beneath the Twin Spires Nov. 1. Prior to that, she was soundly beaten and eased when seventh in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland.
"It was a very important race for me and for her to see if she can redeem herself," Brisset said of the Nov. 1 allowance. "She broke clean and got into a tight spot where Luan (Machado) had to check up pretty hard and we lost a lot of ground. She got the kickback for the first time and she had all the opportunity to quit and say she had enough, but she actually made a run in the turn. (Muhimma) was already gone, but she galloped out strong after the wire."
The field also features a pair of debut maiden winners making their second starts.
Emily Bushnell and Pam Wygod's Beauty Reigns was a game winner going 6 1/2 furlongs at Aqueduct Nov. 8 while pressing the pace and winning a stretch-long duel for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
Nice Guys Stables' Michelle ships up from Laurel Park for trainer Brittany Russell after running down a loose frontrunning favorite and drawing off to win by four lengths in her six-furlong debut Oct. 26.
Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, December 7, 2024, Race 8Entries: Demoiselle S. (G2)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Muhimma (KY) Florent Geroux 118 Brad H. Cox - 2 Liam in the Dust (KY) Flavien Prat 118 Rodolphe Brisset - 3 Fortuna Mia (KY) Eric Cancel 118 Linda Rice - 4 Carmen's Candy Jar (NY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 118 Todd A. Pletcher - 5 Michelle (KY) Katie Davis 118 Brittany T. Russell - 6 Bless the Broken (KY) Ramon A. Vazquez 118 William Walden - 7 Five a Side (KY) Joel Rosario 118 John C. Servis - 8 Beauty Reigns (KY) Junior Alvarado 118 William I. Mott - 9 Tip Line (KY) Francisco Martinez 118 Uriah St. Lewis - 10 Ballerina d'Oro (KY) Dylan Davis 118 Chad C. Brown -
Occult Leads Wide-Open Go For Wand
Four races earlier, older fillies and mares will race a one-turn mile in the $200,000 Go for Wand Stakes (G3). The field appears wide open on paper, and several connections may be using this start to determine what 2025 will hold for their runners.
Alpha Delta Stables' Occult has not visited the winner's circle since the July 2023 Monmouth Oaks (G3) but enters with the classiest competition in her running lines. Second in three of her four starts this season, the Chad Brown-trained 4-year-old Into Mischief filly last finished a best-of-the-rest second to champion Idiomatic in the Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland Oct. 6. Two of her three career victories have come at Aqueduct and she finished in the exacta in both attempts at the distance.
"She's cutting back to one turn, which will be interesting," Brown said. "I think she should be able to handle it, and that was quite a valiant effort chasing Idiomatic through the stretch. I was very proud of her race and, quite honestly, I think that was her best career race."
Brown also enters Peter Brant's grade 3 winner Shidabhuti, who holds a 3-0-2 record from six starts at Aqueduct. She exits a two-length allowance win at Keeneland Oct. 13.
Godolphin homebred and Cox-trained Comparative looked primed for a big year after consecutive stakes victories to start 2024, including the Bayakoa Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park in February. However, two straight losses led to an eight-month layoff. Last year, she bounced back from a six-month layoff to win a one-turn mile at Aqueduct against allowance company.
"She's coming into it great. It's similar to what we did with her last year and getting her started back after a freshening," Cox said. "She does like Aqueduct and it's a good spot to get her started. We need to find out over the next few months if we want to pursue racing next year or breed her. We got a little window to find out if that's what she wants to do and if she'll move forward at the age of five."
Likewise, KimDon Racing's Tizzy in the Sky makes her first appearance since finishing sixth to Randomized and Idiomatic in the June 8 Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. Prior to that, the 5-year-old mare picked up a nine-length win in Aqueduct's Top Flight Invitational.
Aqueduct Racetrack, Saturday, December 7, 2024, Race 4Entries: Go for Wand S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Tizzy in the Sky (KY) Flavien Prat 123 Todd A. Pletcher - 2 Stonewall Star (NY) John R. Velazquez 121 Horacio De Paz - 3 Occult (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 121 Chad C. Brown - 4 Movie Moxy (KY) Jose Lezcano 121 Linda Rice - 5 Comparative (KY) Manuel Franco 125 Brad H. Cox - 6 Rachel's Rock (FL) Kendrick Carmouche 121 Michelle Giangiulio - 7 Ain't Broke (KY) Eric Cancel 121 Linda Rice - 8 Shidabhuti (KY) Dylan Davis 125 Chad C. Brown -
