Brad Cox

With less than two weeks to the first weekend in May, a gaggle of contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks took to racetracks across the country for some critical breezes Saturday morning. 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) has remained at Keeneland since his slashing victory in the Apr. 6 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and returned to the worktab for the first time on a chilly morning, breezing a half-mile in the company inside of recent Keeneland maiden winner White Palomino (Kitten's Joy) in...

6th-Keeneland, $110,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 4-19, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.06, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. EMERY (f, 3, More Than Ready--Athena {MSW, $459,222}, by Street Sense) broke her maiden by 5 3/4 lengths over a muddy course last summer at Saratoga, and then finished fourth in the slop to Eclipse winner Just F Y I (Justify) in the GI Frizette S. during the Belmont at the Big A meet in early October. Poised to kick off her 3-year-old campaign, the dark bay with Lasix was tabbed as the 1-2 choice...

Proxy (Tapit) provided Godolphin with its first winner of the GII Oaklawn H. just 12 months ago and the progressive Highland Falls (Curlin) has legitimate claims to double that tally when he squares off with 10 others in the nine-furlong contest. Trained by Brad Cox--who somewhat surprisingly has never saddled an Oaklawn H. winner--the homebred son of GI Breeders' Cup Distaff upsetter Round Pond (Awesome Again) won three of his first four trips to the post in maiden and allowance company back east and was scarcely disgraced last time in...

His contentious prohibition from Churchill penalizes many others besides Bob Baffert and his loyal patrons. A shot at the GI Kentucky Derby, once-in-a-lifetime for most, is also being denied to everyone else with a stake in his horses' development, from those on duty at the foaling shed to the pre-trainer to the feed company. And, of course, there's nothing like a Derby winner to market a stallion. As things have turned out, a setback means that Nyquist would have lost the services of Nysos even had he moved to another...

Godolphin homebred Encino (Nyquist) took to dirt with aplomb, delivering a 3/4-length, wire-to-wire victory over favored The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso) in Saturday's GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. With the win, good for 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, Encino is currently ranked 21st on the leaderboard with 40 points. "Ultimately (whether he starts in the Kentucky Derby) will be up to the Godolphin team--Dan Pride, Michael Banahan, Sheikh Mohammed--and if it's something they want to do, we'll prepare him," winning trainer Brad Cox said. "We'll...

With only three weeks remaining until the 150th running of the GI Kentucky Derby, Catching Freedom (Constitution), Endlessly (Oscar Performance), Mystik Dan (Goldencents) and Common Defense (Karakontie {Jpn}) continued their training towards the Run for the Roses with published workouts Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Soon after the track opened at 5:30 a.m., GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom was the first Derby contender to work when he went a solo half-mile in :48 (14/123). "He's had very steady training the last five, six weeks," trainer Brad Cox said....

Prep season for the GI Kentucky Oaks is over and we have a pretty good idea of who is going to be in the race and which ones are the horses to beat. With three major preps--the GI Ashland S., the GII Santa Anita Oaks and the GIII Gazelle S.--all run over the weekend, there was plenty of movement in our Top 10. But the very solid Tarifa (Bernardini) maintains the top spot for Brad Cox. Here's a look at the latest installment of our Kentucky Oaks Top Ten: 1)...

7th-KEE, $110K, $100k Opt. Clm., 3yo, 1 1/16m, 4:12 p.m. e Five Thoroughbreds and Ian Brennan's ROCKETEER (Curlin) lived up to his name when airing by four lengths in his career debut going seven panels at this venue last October. Working consistently for trainer Brad Cox, the colt posted a bullet five-furlong move in :59 4/5 at Churchill Downs Mar. 31 before going four furlongs in :48 4/5 Apr. 6. A grandson of Grade I winner Stop Traffic (Cure the Blues), the colt takes blinkers off for this go around....

In a tour de force befitting the excitement of opening weekend at Keeneland, Denim and Pearls (Into Mischief) all but ran off the screen en route to her career-first Graded victory in the GII Middleground Capital Beaumont S. A winner by a nose at this venue on first asking Oct. 21, she parlayed that effort into a 3 1/2-length score at Churchill Downs in November against allowance optional claiming company. From there, her connections asked a bit more of their developing star when she moved to Oaklawn Park and tried...

Discreet Mischief (c, 3, Into Mischief--Brushwork, by Discreet Cat), a very solid second sprinting on debut with an 89 Beyer Speed Figure behind the highly regarded Drip (Good Magic) over a sloppy track at Fair Grounds Feb. 17, delivered a 'TDN Rising Star' performance for trainer Brad Cox to graduate impressively at second asking at Keeneland Saturday. The 4-5 favorite jumped well and secured a perfect spot pressing in an outside second through fractions of :22.47 and :45.54. He took over on the turn for home, was in complete control...

Almostgone Rocket (f, 3, Into Mischief--Bound, by Jump Start) made it look easy on her debut at Oaklawn Park to the tune of 'TDN Rising Star' honors for the effort. Breaking well and keen to press the issue early, she took over at the half after :22.25 and :46.45 splits, and had opened up a notable margin coming into the lane. With no one coming close, she strolled home the easiest of winners by 11 3/4 lengths. Early leader 24-1 longshot Delacina (Dominus) was clearly second best. Out of multiple...

The GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, featuring a highly anticipated rematch between Dornoch (Good Magic) and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), is one of three GI Kentucky Derby prep races on tap on a fantastic day of racing Saturday. Dornoch dug back gamely to defeat Sierra Leone in a heart-stopping renewal of the GII Remsen S. at a rain-soaked Aqueduct Dec. 2, then took care of business in a scratched-down GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Mar. 2. Sierra Leone, meanwhile, returned with an...