Does making things look easy signify quality in the athletic arena? If that’s the case, then the running of the Monomoy Girl Stakes on June 17 means Hoosier Philly is a top-shelf talent.

  Re-located to Ellis Park, the one-mile Monomoy Girl featured a compact but talented five-horse field. After an awe-inspiring two-year-old campaign that saw her win all three of her starts, Hoosier Philly was winless in three starts in 2023. A superb second-place finish in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes last out provided indications this daughter of Into Mischief was finding her freshmen form, but the winner’s circle is where she really wants to be.

  Breaking alertly, Hoosier Philly went straight to the lead and guided the field through a very soft opening quarter mile (25.23). Quickening the pace a bit as her lead widened under jockey Edgar Morales (48.86 half mile), the Tom Amoss-trained beauty was moving like a runway model up the backstretch. Unpressured as they turned for home, the Philly instinctively pounced like a Bayou Bengal Tiger and bolted to a four-and-a-half-length lead. Cruising home with magnificence, even Kentucky Oaks morning line favorite Wet Paint posed no threat as Hoosier Philly rolled under the wire a geared down three and a half lengths the best.

  “This was a wow performance with an asterisk”, says Tom Amoss. “It was very impressive visually, but she had things her own way and may not get a setup like that again. We are very pleased with how things played out and it’s great to get her back to the winner’s circle.”

  The early spring of her three-year-old season did not go according to plan as the Kentucky Oaks was her original target, but there are many “big” races remaining on the calendar. The ease of the Monomoy Girl Stakes score could be an indicator this Gold Standard Racing-owned runner is ready to contend for top honors in her division. Headed to Saratoga for now, Hoosier Philly’s next start is to be determined. But while they are waiting on her next visit to the starting gates, her connections can relish in her most recent results.

  “I made some bold statements about her as a two-year-old”, says Amoss, an avid LSU supporter. “She has plenty to prove as a racehorse and now I’m going to let her do the talking."