Idiomatic wins the Gr.3 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth

Homebred mare Idiomatic collected her seventh Graded victory in the Gr.3 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday (20th July).

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News, 21st July 2024, by Christina Bossinakis:

Idiomatic was sent off the searing 1-9 choice in the scratched reduced field of five, the 2023 champion older mare stumbled a hair coming out of stall six as Kathleen O faced a much more dramatic misstep exiting the gate. While the latter was rushed into contention along the inside, the champion cruised effortlessly to the lead, doling out an opening quarter in a poky :25.57 before carving out an equally laughable half in :50.27 with Miles of Smiles and Kathleen O in pursuit. As if caught by surprise as Soul of an Angel rushed up to the champ and inched ahead to a short advantage approaching the quarter pole, the pair rounded the home turn in tandem. Battling through the length of the lane, Soul of an Angel gave it her all but Idiomatic refused to give up along the inside and managed to put her head down on the wire. Frosty O'Toole closed from the back to be third.

"A little bit too close for my liking, but champions know how to win races," said jockey Florent Geroux. Explaining the narrow win despite the slow early fractions, Geroux added: "I know exactly what happened. She was waiting on the other fillies and looking around a lot. I felt her underneath me going slower and slower. When the filly came up next to me, I gave her a reminder and she pulled it off."

Winning trainer Brad Cox added: "Her class prevailed late. She ran big. I'm not at all concerned she's not the same horse she was last year. With the lack of pace, it was run like a turf race. That's the bottom line. You're going the half in :50 and then it was a race from the half-mile pole to the wire. They were on even terms at the half-mile pole for the most part and she prevailed. When the other horse got by her there was a little bit of a concern, but she rallied. She took the pressure and she was in tight down the lane, but she responded well."

The winner of eight of nine starts during her championship season, including a trio of Grade 1 wins, the five-year-old kicked off 2024 with a score in the Gr.1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs on 3rd May before tasting defeat for the first time in over a year in the nine-furlong Gr.1 Ogden Phipps at Saratoga on 8th June. According to Cox, the mare will make her next start in Saratoga's Gr.1 Personal Ensign Stakes. "That's still the plan. She'll leave for Saratoga tomorrow," he said.