The Cotillion (Grade 1)- $1,000.000 Purse
PRX- For Fillies Three Years Old
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
September 21, 2024
Over the years of covering races, I have had the pleasure of writing up the Cotillion on many different occasions. While you can always expect a $1,000.000 race that is six weeks before the BC to draw a loaded field, it always seems that the Cotillion takes that to another level and is especially competitive. That is going to be the case again this year, as the race will feature recent winners of the Alabama, Test, CT Oaks, MTH Oaks, and Pine Stakes. Those are five different horses, by the way. We also have others who finished well in those very races. Once again, PRX will be treated to amazing field of three-year-old fillies, just like it should be. In 2023, Wavy Girl had the honor of winning the Cotillion, doing so for Saratoga Stud. She would then go on to finish second in the BC Distaff and continues to run well. The gate is full, so it’s time to take a run through the field:
1- Rubimaulu (Fractious, ridden by Mar Garcia)- No one could blame Fractious for putting down $301.010 to pick up Rubimaulu in the June auction after a successful two-year-old campaign and being out of the one of the games top broodmares. The filly would make her first start in Fractious silks last month, when she was able to run in an ELP allowance. Ran second there, but it must be considered that she ran on a six-month layoff. It’s a shame that she has had so little time to run as a three-year-old, but now she gets her chance to take on some rivals that she was bred to run against.
2- Lille (Smokey Stover, ridden by Jo Dominguez)- Last month, Lille picked up the win in the Grade 3 Pine Stakes at DMR, which is also her third consecutive victory. That stake isn’t as big as the ones that others in here won in their last start, but it certainly shows that she belongs in this race. Now, the elephant in the room on her is that her Pine Stakes win “only” managed a 92 SRF and several key rivals consistently run better than that every time out.
3- Skydancer (Riggins Racing, ridden by Jam Rodriguez)- When we last saw this filly, it was at the end of July, when she won the Grade 3 MTH Oaks. That was her second race in three weeks, so she was given a little more rest to prepare for bigger races this fall. That starts here in the Cotillion for this filly that has regularly been running in stakes. She’s a little susceptible to a subpar outing, but still has won six times over 15 starts.
4- Reflex Action (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- After showing so much promise as a two-year-old, winning the Frizette and the Demoiselle, Reflex Action has not been able to get similar results this year. Four of her last five starts have seen her finish eighth or worse, and she has still been sent out there in top races like the Acorn and CCA Oaks. The good race in that stretch was a third-place effort in the Eight Belles, when she went seven furlongs. I admire the trainer’s faith, but she’s eating up a lot of nomination fees if she doesn’t start improving immediately.
5- Divine Moonlight (Smokey Stover, ridden by L Dettori)- After winning the Grade 2 Starlet at LA last December, Divine Moonlight was sold in private sales for $600.000 to Smokey Stover. She’s only raced at the graded level twice since then, initially running third in the Honeybee a month after the sale, but she’d be dropped after not handling the slop to the trainer’s liking in the Ashland. She has won each of the optional claimers that she has been in for high purses, so it’s good to see her back at this level. Those wins won’t intimidate most of these rivals, however.
6- Beautiful Eileen (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by A Cedillo)- After winning the $135.000 Wilton at SAR, Beautiful Eileen was sent to DMR to try the turf for the first time and make her graded debut. It wasn’t an easy task either, as the race was the Grade 1 DMR Oaks, where she placed fourth in a five-horse field. The trainer was encouraged by what he saw out of her there to keep her in Grade 1’s, but now it will be back to the main track. If this field was not so loaded, I could call her a wild card in here, but this is a big challenge.
7- Purple Charger (Fractious, ridden by A Beschizza)- She has not necessarily been visiting the winner’s circle as often as she could be, but she is running very well against top opposition every time out there. The BC Juvenile Fillies runner up has hit the board five times in seven tries as a three year, with the win being the Grade 1 Ashland at KEE. Ran fourth in the KYO, third in the Acorn, and second in the CT Oaks most recently, so it’s fair to say she is due to get another victory. I have a good feeling about her.
8- Wasted Away (Mb Stables, ridden by A Beschizza)- In a sale between HRP heavyweights, Wasted Away went from Fractious to Mb Stables for $1,250.000 in late July, just four days after the filly won the CCA Oaks, which would mean the sale was agreed to the day after that race (or maybe the night of). Couldn’t have done much better in her three-race tenure with Fractious: winning the KYO and CCA Oaks while being second in the Acorn, but as fate would have it, that would be it. With Mb Stables, Wasted Away continued to win, snagging the Alabama at SAR to bring her here to the Cotillion. In a deep field, she has the best resume. But the candidate list is awfully strong.
9- Plenty Of Profit (Riggins Racing, ridden by M E Smith)- Between March and June this year, Plenty Of Profit has been agonizingly close to picking up a big win. Instead, she settled for second in a photo in the GP Oaks, second in a photo again at the Black Eyed Susan, and then third, being within a length at the Grade 3 Selene. So close, but still looking to really live up to her name and pick up plenty of profit, instead of just a little bit of it. She’s won twice, but none in any of the stakes that she has been in. Last month was probably her only bad race, when she was cut to seven furlongs in the CT Oaks on short rest. So, that has excuses.
10- Hobo Blues (Alydar Stables, ridden by J P Spencer)- When Plenty Of Profit was second in a photo at the Black Eyed Susan, the one that got the win there was Hobo Blues. For the Alydar Stables filly, it was her second win of the year, as she also captured the $250.000 Martha Washington in January. After a no-show in the Acorn, Hobo Blues redeemed herself at SAR by running third in the CCA Oaks, and then second in the Alabama, so with a little more luck she could turn the tables on those results. However, when she’s not good, she’s nowhere to be found at the end.
11- Lady Lara (Night Mare Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- Lady Lara is 6-for-6 in her career going seven furlongs or less, and has won her last three starts, all of which were long sprints. Those weren’t softies either, first taking the $125.000 Bouwerie, then the Grade 1 Test, each at SAR, and then winning the CT Oaks last month. But, the allure of bigger purses has had her going longer as well, and she was a KYO runner this spring. She has yet to win any of these races, but with her current run of form and the way that she likes to run, you would think that she would have no issue at this distance.
12- Lab Virus (Saratoga Stud, ridden by W T Buick)- Looks to give her trainer his second straight win in the Cotillion, which is interestingly a race that has never been won by the same trainer more than once. That has multiple strong opportunities to change this year, though. Lab Virus will need to be better than she was in the Alabama, where she lost by six lengths. There’s room for optimism with that, as she was second in the CCA Oaks right before that. Her works don’t amaze me, but they were at BTP, after all.
13- Beach Towel (Winning Link Stables, ridden by F Pennington)- Her jockey certainly knows how to win at PRX, and the trainer hopes that is the winning link for Beach Towel here. In late March, the filly won the GP Oaks, which qualified her for the KYO. Unfortunately, she did not beat any of her rivals that day. Bounced back well two months later by running second in the DEL Oaks, but didn’t show up for the Test last time out. Ordinarily, I would not be overly concerned about that, but this field is just way too deep that it’s hard to pick anyone that may have a red flag on them.
14- Double Zee (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- For her career, Double Zee has two wins over twelve starts, but has not been back to the winner’s circle since October, when she won the $200.000 Myrtlewood, for ON-Breds, at WO. This year, she’s had her moments, picking up a fourth-place checks in her last two starts: the Grade 3 Selene at WO, and then the Test at SAR. She’s been competitive, but in this race, you’re going to have to be a lot more than that, and I feel that there are better options.
Prediction: 7-8-3-11
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
