Exotics Plays for the 2023 Monomoy Girl Stakes

Two-time Grade 3 victress #1 Wet Paint (6-5) will lead a field of six three-year-old fillies postward in Saturday’s $175,000 Monomoy Girl S. at Ellis Park. Trained by Brad Cox, the sophomore daughter of Blame moved to among the leaders in her division when reeling off decisive victories in the Martha Washington S., Honeybee S. (G3), and Fantasy S. (G3) in succession at Oaklawn Park this season.

Wet Paint went postward as the 8-5 favorite in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) most recently and had to settle for a solid fourth while facing her toughest opposition to date. The bay Godolphin homebred has come back with a useful trio of morning drills in the interim, and I expect her to run a big race on Saturday. She earned a lifetime-best 95 Brisnet Speed number beneath the Twin Spires, and another move forward is surely more than possible.

In the Monomoy Girl, the top selection will save ground in the short run into the first turn, which will have her well-placed on the backside to the top of the lane. Tyler Gaffalione will then ask the miss for her best, and I envision her running down all of her foes late en route to a triumph.

Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2) runner-up #4 Hoosier Philly (7-5) looked more like her juvenile self at Pimlico following a pair of subpar efforts at Fair Grounds to commence her three-year-old season. The $510,000 daughter of Into Mischief jumped to the lead in her 1 1/8-mile debut last time out and stayed on to be a clear runner-up in a nice field. She has posted a trio of solid morning moves since that performance, and I expect the gray to benefit from dropping back in distance on Saturday, as well. Hoosier Philly will be tough if left alone early beneath regular pilot Edgar Morales.

The structure of the race doesn’t seem to be ideal for recent allowance heroine #5 Champagne Calling (8-1), but I like this filly and believe that she has a bright future. Conditioned by Ian Wilkes, the $250,000 daughter of Empire Maker defeated a solid field in her latest performance despite being six wide in the stretch, and she represents good value in the compact group with Julien Leparoux in the controls.

Monomoy Girl Exotics Wagers

$30 exacta: 1 with 4 ($30)

$10 exacta: 1 with 5 ($10)

$5 trifecta key: 1 with 4,5 ($10)

$3 superfecta: 1 with 4 with 5 with all ($9)