Cox Continuing Impressive Climb

Trainer Brad Cox has done little wrong over the last few years. His operation has flourished, his numbers have impressed and his reputation as one of the top up-and-coming trainers in the game has been substantiated with consistency. A Louisville native, Cox has a clientele as diverse as his stock, with fledgling owners joining the ranks of powerful top-level players owning everything from mid-level claimers to multiple graded stakes winners. Currently setting up shop in Louisiana and Arkansas, the Kentucky-based operation is striking with a regularity as astute and equanimous as the 36-year-old, himself.

“Over the last few years, we've picked up a lot of quality stock and quality clients,” Cox said. “That's one of the biggest things that's helped our barn. One thing we still do is claim, but we claim from the higher end. We will continue to look for value when it's available, of course, but yes, the barn has changed for the better. I like to joke and say that the payroll is probably the biggest thing that's changed, but that's what happens when your barn increases in size and we really enjoy having a larger operation and have done well with it.”

A former assistant to Jimmy Baker and Dallas Stewart–the latter for nearly five years–who also worked for Frankie Brothers, Jinks Fires and Burt Kessinger, Cox went out on his own 2005 and has since weathered his fair share of ups and downs within an often ruthless industry. Perhaps that is why the father of three has kept such a level head through this calculated surge of success over the last few years. From his first few lean freshman seasons, to the highs (and subsequent post-employment lows) of his relationship with powerful owner Midwest Thoroughbreds, to the revamping of his now 100-horse, three-assistant stable, Cox has shown that his enterprise is a force with which to reckon. In such, Cox is coming off a career year in which he finished 15th nationally in both wins (151) and earnings ($6,288,972) and struck at a 28% rate matched only by Linda Rice (17th) among top-20 earning conditioners. Additionally, his 59% in-the-money rate was tops among said group.

“Obviously having a great staff and plenty of quality horses helps,” Cox said. “Happy, healthy and sound horses go a long way when it comes to doing well. And, of course, it's always a combination of many things that make you successful, but we are very excited about what we've accomplished so far. As a trainer, I think winning graded stakes helps with letting current or future clients know that you can get that done and be successful. That's helped a lot. I also think it's important that you know, as a trainer, that the owner owns the horse. You as a trainer are there to let them know what's best for the animal and what will make them better.

“We're also not afraid to run our horses and are aggressive about trying to win races,” Cox continued. “That's a big part of my operation. We are aggressive in a good way about trying to be successful and we're there to run and win.”

And win he has–at nearly every class level.

It takes a certain combination of demeanor, determination and diligence to manage an operation of such aforementioned scope while it is beginning to appreciate on multiple levels. Like guiding a ship that is somehow picking up size and speed while the tide increases, such is not an enviable task, but Cox has captained with a tangible confidence that makes his operation appear like a Carnival cruise.

Currently with about 40 horses at both Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and Evangeline Training Center in Louisiana and 20 at Oaklawn Park, Cox has picked up right where he left off last year, winning five of 15 (33%) and finishing in the money in 12 of those (80%) so far in 2017. At the Fair Grounds, he is striking at a 30% rate on the meet, which began Nov. 19, which by his standards seems normal. In fact, in the last five weeks (since Dec. 15) at the New Orleans oval, he has won 15 of 36 races in which he was entered, from a $15,000 claiming event he won with Goblet of Fire (Pleasantly Perfect) to the meet-leading four stakes races he has annexed with Green Mask (Mizzen Mast), Cash Control {Pioneerof the Nile}, Western Reserve {Indian Charlie} and Believe in Bertie {Langfuhr}.

“It's all about great horsemanship and running horses where they're supposed to run,” Cox said. “I learned great organizational skills from Dallas Stewart in addition to being a good horseman and that is key. I learned a great deal from all the trainers I worked for, but I try to keep developing. We treat every horse differently and individually tailor their training to them. I'm not afraid to try new things or tweak what I'm doing if I think it can improve the program and I think that's important.

“You're always learning,” he continued. “We've done well at the Fair Grounds because it works really well with our program, especially with how Churchill Downs runs right into the meet. The turf course and having more grass horses is a big part of that, as well. Until Chocolate Ride {Candy Ride {Arg}) came along, we didn't have that many and we've picked up a lot since and done well and won stakes with them. The training is a little different with them, but I enjoy that it often keeps horses more sound and lets you race them longer, like Chocolate Ride.

The horse he considers his most accomplished, the unofficial mascot of the Cox barn is GenStar Thoroughbreds' aforementioned son of Candy Ride. A swift, classy and cleverly named dark bay, Chocolate Ride was claimed for $40,000 out of a Nov. 2014 Churchill Downs one-turn dirt mile and came to the barn sporting some significant hoof issues. Through no small amount of patience and some serious T-L-C from assistant trainer Ricky Giannini, the Stall-Wilson turf course-loving fan favorite has won six of 13, including four graded stakes, while setting or equaling two course records at the Fair Grounds. He was third, one spot behind stablemate Western Reserve, when attempting to defend his GIII Colonel E. R. Bradley H. title this past Saturday.

“He's such a fantastic horse to have and train and is definitely my most accomplished,” Cox beamed. “He gave me my first Grade II win and hopefully has a couple more left in him.

“The most talented horse I've ever had on raw talent is probably Believe in Bertie,” the 13-time graded stakes winner continued. “We are going to have a lot of fun with her. She was out-working a filly like Cash Control, who has won multiple graded stakes, and then the other day broke the track record in a hand ride. I also really like Sassy Little Lila (Artie Schiller) moving forward. She's getting a break, but I think she's going to be a very good 4-year-old.”

A Louisiana-bred homebred of Richard, Elaine and Bertram Klein, Believe in Bertie is a granddaughter of multiple graded stakes winner and Grade I Alabama runner-up Allamerican Bertie who has now won four of nine and finished in the exacta seven times. Her nearly eight-length victory in the Pago Hop S. on New Year's Eve lowered the Fair Grounds turf mile track record to 1:34.22.

Sheep Pond Partners, et al.'s Sassy Little Lila led all the way in the GI American Oaks at Santa Anita on the same day, only to be nipped at the wire by a nose. Said effort was only her second attempt in stakes company, first in graded company and third race since breaking her maiden at Saratoga Sept. 5.

Undeterred by such a tough loss, Cox, the winner of nearly 600 races, has remained focused on upping the tempo and bringing home an even bigger season in 2017. His success, which has been aided by top assistants Giannini, Tessa Bisha and Jorge Abrego, has not gone unnoticed by such powerful outfits as Donegal Racing, Donald Dizney, Zayat Stables, Tracy Farmer and Abdullah Saeed Almaddah–who have all sent him horses over the past season. It appears that it is only a matter of time until a Grade I-winning photo-finish–or many of them, for that matter–falls his direction.

“At the end of the day, we just try to do right by the clients and be honest about how we feel after assessing a horse. That gives them the best possible information,” Cox concluded. “We don't take days off and we're definitely out there to win.”