LOUISVILLE, Ky. - This time, she held her course straight and true - as true as the golden heart that beats beneath her chestnut coat. Kentucky Oaks heroine Monomoy Girl has been the only one able to beat herself this season, as her penchant for losing focus in the lane cost her a perfect season via disqualification last time out. But Saturday afternoon, back beneath the twin spires, Monomoy Girl surged by dual Canadian classic winner Wonder Gadot, turned back multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Blue Prize, and held off Chilean Triple Crown winner Wow Cat in the final stages to win the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs. "She is a special filly, one of a kind, an unbelievable filly," trainer Brad Cox said. Monomoy Girl became the fourth Kentucky Oaks winner to take the Distaff, and the third to do so in the same year, joining Princess Rooney (1983 Oaks-1984 Distaff), Ashado (2004), and Untapable (2014). For Louisville native Cox, she has been a breakout horse, giving him his first Grade 1 victory earlier this season and putting his barn crew, which burst into joyful celebration trackside, in the national limelight with her Oaks win - and now, a first Breeders' Cup victory. "I'm honestly not shocked she ran as well as she did, she was training so well coming into this race," Cox said. "She was aggressive in the mornings, just wanting to do more. She got her opportunity today. She didn't let us down. "She went straight today, more focused than she's been," Cox added. "A phenomenal effort." Monomoy Girl ($5.60) and regular rider Florent Geroux - who had won four previous Breeders' Cup races, including last year's Classic with Horse of the Year Gun Runner - landed the outside post in a stellar field of 11 fillies and mares that included six Grade 1 winners, led by 2017 Kentucky Oaks winner and Eclipse Award champion Abel Tasman. The outside draw was just fine with Cox, who noted that the filly also broke from the extreme outside, 14, in the Kentucky Oaks. Wonder Gadot, who broke from post 5, was aggressive in the early stages under Irad Ortiz, assuming command through an honest opening quarter of 23.39 seconds on a track rated fast. Monomoy Girl settled a tracking second, running freely on the outside with confident handling from Geroux. "It was a great trip," Geroux said. "She was super-sharp." Abel Tasman, who was away a step slowly from post 2 under Mike Smith, quickly recovered and settled in third, saving ground on the inside as the field headed into the backstretch, with Wonder Gadot getting the opening half in 47.57 as she led by a measured length. Monomoy Girl began to inch her way up alongside Wonder Gadot with only mild urging from Geroux around the turn, and was breathing down her throatlatch at the quarter pole. She drove to the lead as the field straightened away into the lane, and skipped away from Blue Prize, who was rallying on the outside. She was never under serious threat from the closers from there, stopping the clock in 1:49.79. "She just kept on going all the way to the wire," Geroux said. "This is a filly with great tactical speed, and she loves to win. She’s just unbelievable.” Wow Cat, who was 11th and last down the backstretch and was steadied at the quarter pole while looking for room, dove to the inside under Jose Ortiz to gain in the final stages, edging Midnight Bisou by a half-length for second. Midnight Bisou finished another head in front of Blue Prize. It was 2 3/4 lengths back to Mopotism, who was followed, in order, by Verve's Tale, Champagne Problems, La Force, the fading Wonder Gadot, Vale Dori, and Abel Tasman, who beat a steady retreat in the second half of the race. Smith did not persist in the final stages with the beaten Abel Tasman, a six-time Grade 1 winner who was looking for redemption after finishing a dull fifth as the favorite in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes in September at Santa Anita. “She just quit," trainer Bob Baffert said. "She just quit running. Sometimes they do that. I thought she was in a good spot, [Smith] got aggressive with her, but she just doesn't want to run anymore, it looks like.” Monomoy Girl was bred in Kentucky by Brendan and Olive Gallagher's Frankfort Park Farm and the Highfield Ranch of Michael Hernon of Gainesway, which stands sire Tapizar. The filly was a $100,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, and now races for Michael Dubb, Sol Kumin's Monomoy Stables, Stuart Grant's Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables. Monomoy Girl won her first three career starts, including the Rags to Riches Stakes at Churchill Downs, before finishing second, beaten a neck, in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes, in which she held a clear lead in the stretch before lugging in and out in the final stages. She began her 2018 campaign with five consecutive victories, all in graded stakes. She won her season debut in the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds by daylight, despite being taken out of her usual running style when she hit the gate, and then shying at the eighth pole. She then rolled in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, giving Cox his first Grade 1 victory and making her the favorite for the Kentucky Oaks. Monomoy Girl outdueled Wonder Gadot to win the Kentucky Oaks by a half-length on the first Friday in May, surviving a jockey's objection after she came out slightly in the lane and appeared to brush the runner-up. There was no controversy in her next two outings, both in New York, as she coasted by two lengths in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont Park, and three in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga. But then, her tendency to drift in the lane once clear caught up with her in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes. She gamely fought off Midnight Bisou to cross the line a neck in front, but was disqualified and placed second for interference after drifting in in upper stretch, forcing Midnight Bisou to take the outside path, and then out toward her rival. But Saturday, there were no doubts about it, as Monomoy Girl held her course to the line, and certainly to the 3-year-old filly championship after a productive campaign. “Look at the 3-year-old crop, boys and girls,” Dubb said. “Who was around last November, and then starting on their respective trails in January, and danced today? Look at the entries in the Breeders' Cup races; where are they? So I mean, this is really some accomplishment, I believe.” Monomoy Girl’s ownership team indicated that they plan to give the filly a well-earned vacation before embarking on a full 2019 campaign. But somewhere in there, it might be time to see if the filly can fly. Kumin mentioned the $9 million Pegasus World Cup, in which Monomoy Girl would face males next January at Gulfstream Park, as a potential target. “I think we will take a look at the Pegasus,” Kumin said. “I think it's a good distance for her. She gets a little bit of a break before the race. Speed favoring track at Gulfstream. She'll get obviously a little bit of a weight break.”