Triple Crown

Monomoy Girl wins the 2018 Kentucky Oaks

Action began at Churchill Downs on Friday

Updated May 4, 2018, 10:53 PM UTC

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

One of the favorites, Monomoy Girl, came through with a fight down the stretch to hold off Wonder Gadot to win the 2018 Kentucky Oaks on Friday afternoon at Churchill Downs.

Monomoy Girl, a 5/2 race at post time, took the lead around the halfway point of the race after Take Charge Paula did just that for the first half mile. Wonder Gadot, at 16-1 made a hard charge down the stretch, only to see Florent Geroux pull away for his first Kentucky Oaks victory.

This was the first Kentucky Oaks win for trainer Brad Cox.

Midnight Bissou, the 2-1 favorite, overcame a slow start to make a late run, but finished third.

Preview

All eyes are on Churchill Downs in Louisville this weekend for the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown. But before Saturday’s festivities, we have a full day of racing set for Friday, culminating with the 2018 Kentucky Oaks.

There are 13 races Friday, beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET. NBCSN will begin its TV coverage at noon and run for three hours. NBCSN resumes coverage from 5-6:30 p.m., which will include the signature race of the day. Online streaming of Friday’s coverage is available through NBC Sports Live Extra.

The Kentucky Oaks is a 1⅛-mile race between the best three-year-old fillies in the world. Monomoy Girl is the favorite at 2-1 odds and starts on the outside in the 14th post, with Midnight Bisou at 5-2 starting in 10th position.

Monomoy Girl is trained by Brad Cox, who has three horses in the race, including Sassy Siena at 15-1 in the first post.

“Sassy will be close,” Cox told the Associated Press Thursday. “Her and Monomoy have similar styles as far as where we would like for them to be placed in the race. Obviously, there’s going to be concern with one being caught wide in the first turn and the other one hopefully getting a clean run.”

The Kentucky Oaks starts at 6:12 p.m. ET