Brad Cox

'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) worked a five-furlong bullet in 1:00.20 (1/48) Friday morning at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans in preparation for the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 27. The GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. winner and GII Clark S. runner-up worked shortly before 6 a.m. with exercise rider Kelvin Perez aboard. "It was a really, really good breeze," trainer Brad Cox said. "I know that's typical trainer talk but he's a good work horse. He was by...

Trainers Brad Cox, Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher all have victories to their credit in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. and each of the three champion trainers will have an opportunity to add to those numbers in this year's $3-million feature Saturday, Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park. Cox, who won the the 2021 renewal with Knicks Go (Paynter), looks set to be represented by a pair of entrants in the nine-furlong contest. Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), front-running winner of the GI Pennsylvania Derby last September, will seek to...

Trainer Mike Stidham, who recorded the highest earnings mark of his 34-year career in 2023, got the new year off to a quick start when Godolphin's Heckled (Hard Spun) broke her maiden in the eighth race at Fair Grounds Monday. The  conditioner has a pair of promising newly turned 3-year-olds who could help keep the momentum going in 2024. Godolphin homebred Central Avenue (Street Sense), a first-out winner at Colonial Downs last August, was second in the Oct. 7 GI Frizette S. and, most recently, third in the Nov. 25...

Albaugh Family Stables' Catching Freedom, the 8-5 favorite, kicked off his sophomore campaign in style with a late-running victory in the Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park Monday. Favored for his third-straight start, the bay colt was unhurried early Monday and settled well off the pace behind fractions of :23.02 and :47.01. He inched closer along the rail on the far turn, tipped out for running room approaching the stretch and rolled up four wide into the lane. Just to his inside off the turn was Just Steel (Justify), who...

Racing fans didn't have to wait long for the New Year's first 'TDN Rising Star' as Juddmonte homebred Impel (Quality Road) sat off hot early fractions and pounced into the lane to graduate at first asking Monday. Facing a field of mostly first-time starters, all making their 3-year-old debuts, Impel took money into the teeth of race favorite Tipsy Tammy (Arrogate), breaking at 7-2 and going right out to be three wide with that rival along with Golden Degree (Goldencents) on the rail. That trio sped through an opening quarter...

Jockey Luan Machado, trainer Brad Cox and owner Dixiana Farms were leaders in their respective divisions at Turfway Park's 20-day Holiday Meet which concluded Saturday night. Machado had 21 wins from 98 mounts (21%) to earn his third leading rider title at Florence, Kentucky oval. His previous titles came at the 2019 Winter/Spring Meet and 2018 Holiday Meet. Machado was followed in the standings by apprentice rider Axel Concepcion who had 19 wins. The Holiday Meet was Cox's second leading trainer title at Turfway. His barn, which is represented locally...

Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) did not disappoint her backers as she lived up to favoritism and won Saturday's Untapable S. in New Orleans. The bay broke her maiden at second asking by a head at Saratoga Sept. 3, but was well-beaten in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland Oct. 6. Returning to her winning ways against allowance company after her race was taken off the grass at Churchill Downs Nov. 26, the filly went off at 8-5 here. The Brad Cox trainee was in-tight along the rail before the...

Boxing Day is not a holiday observed on the American calendar--thanks, Revolutionary generation. However, the day after Christmas is circled in red by the horse racing cadre because it means one thing: Opening Day at Santa Anita Park. This Tuesday, an 11-race card kicks off at 2 p.m. ET under the picturesque San Gabriel mountains in Arcadia, California--six of which are graded stakes. To entice the horseplayer, the Classic Meet sports a $1 Pick Six, a 14 percent takeout on both the .50 Early and Late Pick 5, and we...

2nd-Fair Grounds, $55,000, Msw, 12-23, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.98, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. ETHAN ENERGY (c, 2, Uncle Mo--Sass and Class, by Harlan's Holiday), a well-beaten sixth on debut sprinting at Keeneland Oct. 22, took a major step forward stretching to two turns at second asking here. Removing blinkers and adding Lasix for this, the 2-1 chance chased in fifth rounding the clubhouse turn. Racing under a tight hold by Florent Geroux, he began to settle down the backstretch in that same slot, made a flashy four-wide blitz approaching the...

Some trivia for you equine enthusiasts out there. Who is the only horse to have two graded stakes named after them? The answer is Bayakoa (Arg). The Ron McAnally trainee who won a pair of GI Breeders' Cup Distaffs has one at Oaklawn, while its counterpart takes place this Friday at Los Alamitos Racecourse. The Grade III event out West pits morning-line favorite and Arizona-bred Desert Dawn (Cupid) versus six others going 1 1/16 miles. The 4-year-old filly trained by Phil D'Amato is loaded with class, even though she has...

Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), a powerful winner of this spring's GI Arkansas Derby and a rallying third as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby, has returned to training at WinStar Training Center and is expected to rejoin trainer Brad Cox at either Fair Grounds or Oaklawn Park within the next month. The Albaugh Family Stables colorbearer was given a freshening after concluding his six-race sophomore campaign with a dead-heat fourth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. June 10 and a close third-place finish in a roughly run renewal...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6 1/2f, 12:20pm Godolphin's SPLIT SCREEN (Uncle Mo) gets her start for trainer Brad Cox, who strikes with 26% of his firsters. Having been working along the Kentucky circuit of late, she posted her latest trial at Turfway Dec. 2, covering five furlongs in 1:01 3/5 (34/62) over that oval's synthetic surface. The homebred is out of SW Divided Attention (A.P. Indy), a half-sister to Grade I winner Folklore.   TJCIS PPS