BENSALEM, Pa. – The Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion at Parx Racing on Saturday was a great horse race, with Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou running lights-out over a deep, demanding surface. Then there was a long pause. And Monomoy Girl, who won by a neck, was disqualified and placed second. Some people were happy. Others were sad. Some agreed with the decision. Others did not. In the end, Monomoy Girl did drift enough that the stewards’ decision was at least understandable, regardless of which side of the fence you were on. But back to the beginning. The track at Parx was deep. Fractions and final times were slow, and the inside was not the place to be. Monomoy Girl, with Florent Geroux up, stalked the early three-horse pace inside horses. Midnight Bisou, under Mike Smith, raced in fifth position several lengths back. On the far turn of the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-old fillies, Monomoy Girl made what looked like a winning move and surged to a clear lead. She appeared in command entering the stretch and leading by several lengths as Midnight Bisou gathered steam and rallied after her along the inside. Then Monomoy Girl began to wander. First she came inward, crossing over in front of Midnight Bisou while maybe 1 1/2 lengths in front. That prompted Smith to steer Midnight Bisou outside Monomoy Girl. But then Monomoy Girl began to drift outward. And Midnight Bisou kept coming at her and drifting outward in tandem with her. At the finish, Monomoy Girl held firm but both horses ended up in the middle of the track. Smith lodged an objection, and then the waiting began as a video loop of the stretch run was played over and over. After a lengthy review, the stewards made their decision, and Monomoy Girl’s perfect 5 for 5 season was over. Per Pennsylvania Racing Commission policy, the stewards did not explain their decision to the media. Monomoy Girl ran so well she probably still holds leadership of the 3-year-old filly division over Midnight Bisou, who turned in a super performance under difficult conditions. “The margin was close,” Geroux said of Monomoy Girl. “She was wandering around when she started making the lead. That’s what it is.” Brad Cox, Monomoy Girl's trainer, was gracious following a very difficult DQ when reached by phone an hour after the race. “I thought it could go either way,” he said.  "I knew the longer they looked at it the greater the chance was that they would take her down. "I thought she actually put the field away and then maybe lost her focus and started drifting.” Cox said he was very proud of his filly but that he was “just going to turn the page and go on to the Breeders’ Cup.” Midnight Bisou, who had finished second by three lengths to Monomoy Girl in the Coaching Club American Oaks and more recently was third in the 1/14-mile Alabama, bounced back with a strong effort that shows just how good she can be. Smith said he felt Midnight Bisou did not get a fair chance in the stretch, which prompted him to claim foul. “You know, I’ve been on both sides of it," Smith said of the disqualification. "And you hate for anything to happen like that. She’s just a brilliant filly, Monomy Girl, but my mare deserves a fair chance, and I didn’t think she got one. “I went ahead and went inside because everyone was going out - and I was going straight as an arrow. She chose to come over and take it from me, so I chose the outer route, and there probably wouldn’t have been a DQ if she would have just stayed straight at that point. But then she came out again and we ended up in the eight, nine path. I never got a straight run and I only got beat a neck.” Scott Blasi represented trainer Steve Asmussen’s stable at Parx, as Asmussen attended a family function. “Tough to win like this, lose like that, we’ve all been there,” Blasi said. “But that being said, she deserved to win the race. “She’s an extremely gutty filly and shows up every time. We are just so proud to have her in our barn and she stepped up and has a great constitution and definitely ran her best race.” Midnight Bisou paid $10.40 and was timed in a track-influenced 1:45.95. Wonder Gadot, who raced forwardly early while outside horses, finished third, 10 1/2 lengths behind Midnight Bisou. Midnight Bisou is now 5 for 10 with earnings of $1.38 million. Monomoy Girl is 8 for 10 with two seconds and a a bankroll of $1.85 million. Both Midnight Bisou and Monomoy Girl were given 101 Beyer Speed Figures - career bests for both. They could meet again next in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff where they will face older fillies and mares.