The 2026 Monmouth Oaks at Monmouth Park has turned into a mid-summer crossroads for the 3-year-old filly division, headlined by Black-Eyed Susan winner My Miss Mo squaring off again with familiar rival Jumping the Gun in a field that also attracts high-profile shipper Zany. Scheduled for July 25 at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt with a $150,000 purse, the grade 3 stakes is the premier sophomore filly event of the Jersey summer and a traditional launching pad toward richer late-season targets.
My Miss Mo arrives as the filly everyone has to get past after a gritty score in the May 15 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Laurel Park, where she outlasted Jumping the Gun by 1 3/4 lengths. According to a report from BloodHorse, the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee has finished first or second in all but one of her six starts, banking $328,030 for owners Averill Racing, Mathis Stable, and Tristan De Meric. Those same past performances show a filly whose grinding style and ability to sustain a run make her well-suited to two-turn dirt routes like the Monmouth Oaks. Earlier this spring, Churchill Downs officials confirmed she was scratched from the Kentucky Oaks (G1), forcing connections to recalibrate her campaign toward races like the Black-Eyed Susan and now this Jersey feature. From a handicapper's standpoint, she looks like the filly most likely to show up with her race, and at 1 1/16 miles she doesn't need everything to go perfectly to be right there late.
Jumping the Gun returns looking for revenge after having to settle for second money in the Black-Eyed Susan, and she gets another crack at My Miss Mo over a similar distance. As detailed in the same BloodHorse piece, she is trained by Andrew Simoff for Imaginary Stables and has been kept on the 3-year-old filly stakes trail with this rematch in mind. The Laurel result suggested she was not disgraced, chasing the winner home while clearly best of the rest, and the cutback from the Kentucky Oaks trip to 1 1/16 miles at Monmouth should place her squarely in her comfort zone. If the pace gets a bit hotter than it did at Laurel, Jumping the Gun's ability to sit within striking range and punch late could make her the main threat to spoil My Miss Mo's encore.
The plot thickens with the likely participation of Zany, a Todd Pletcher trainee cross-entered in both the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) at Saratoga and the Monmouth Oaks (G3). A preview from US Racing notes that Zany would be the “obvious choice” if she runs at Monmouth, suggesting connections have her close to peak fitness even if she is not fully cranked to 100%. That same analysis pegs My Miss Mo as the main opposition, with Chad Brown's Point of Reference third in the pecking order after a rallying second in the Monomoy Girl Stakes at Churchill Downs. Should Zany opt for the seemingly softer Monmouth spot instead of Saratoga's grade 1, her tactical speed and high-class barn could tilt the pace scenario, forcing My Miss Mo and Jumping the Gun to react to a new rhythm rather than simply replaying the Laurel script.
Monmouth Park's dirt surface and layout introduce their own variables, especially for fillies shipping in from different circuits. The Monmouth Oaks, run at 1 1/16 miles around two turns, has long been considered the track's signature filly classic, tracing its history back to 1871 according to race background information compiled by US Racing. The racetrack's profile, summarized by the Daily Racing Form, emphasizes its summer stakes program led by races like the Haskell and United Nations, with the Monmouth Oaks fitting as the key July test for 3-year-old fillies on the shore circuit. Traditionally, winners and strong performers in this race have parlayed the effort into invitations or entries for late-summer grade 1 events at Saratoga or other major venues, making the 2026 edition especially intriguing given its mix of established stakes winners and up-and-coming types.
From a wagering perspective, early analyst selections shared by US Racing lean toward Zany over My Miss Mo and Point of Reference, hinting that the Pletcher filly could go favored if she shows up in Oceanport instead of Saratoga. That leaves My Miss Mo as a likely co-featured option on the tote board—respected, but perhaps offering slightly better value than in a race where she would be an odds-on standout. Jumping the Gun projects as the classic “forgotten” filly in the wagering despite having already looked My Miss Mo in the eye at Laurel and staying on for second. With the Monmouth Oaks sitting at the intersection of several summer campaigns, sharp players will be watching for late trainer and jockey decisions, warm-up cues, and any hints of track bias on the undercard to finalize their plays in a race that should have serious implications for the 3-year-old filly rankings heading into August.
