Brad Cox

Tappan Street (Into Mischief) and Sovereignty (Into Mischief), one-two in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, breezed Friday morning at Payson Park while preparing for their scheduled starts in the GI Kentucky Derby. WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc. and Cold Press Racing's Tappan Street, who defeated Sovereignty by 1 1/4 lengths Mar. 29, breezed a half-mile in company with 3-year-old stablemate Rapture (Uncle Mo). "He went very well. I had him in :48 2/5, 1:01 3/5. It was a good move, executed very, very well. Obviously, inside of Rapture. It was...

Prep season is over, and now it's time to get down to business. A deep field will line up for the GI Kentucky Oaks, led by the undefeated Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro). In most years, she'd be 4-5 or lower, but there are enough quality fillies lining up for the race that you might see 2-1 on her. Since the last installment, La Cara (Street Sense) moved up the charts with a win in the GI Ashland S., Ballerina d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) nosed out Early On (Union Rags) to win...

Trainer Brad Cox sent out GI Kentucky Derby contender Final Gambit (Not This Time) and likely GI Longines Kentucky Oaks favorite Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) for their latest breezes at Churchill Downs. Juddmonte's Final Gambit, winner of the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 at 7:15 a.m. Godolphin's Good Cheer followed with a five-furlong move in 1:00.40 at 9 a.m. Both were piloted by Cox's exercise rider Edvin Vargas. Final Gambit began his work at the 4 1/2-furlong pole, covering an opening quarter-mile in :25.40. He galloped...

1st-Keeneland, $110,000, Msw, 4-8, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.51, ft, 2 1/2 lengths. INVICTUS (c, 3, Into Mischief--Serengeti Empress {MGISW, $2,175,653}, by Alternation) had not been seen since finishing a well-beaten seventh in the 6 1/2-furlong Saratoga maiden race won in 'TDN Rising Star' style by Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) last July. The 8-5 second choice was hustled out to the early lead, but allowed favored Camp Hale (Mo Town) to take control and then settled in third as longshot Ship Ship Hooray (Midshipman) shot up the rail to lead as the quarter...

7th-KEE, $120k, OC125k/NW1X, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 4:12 p.m. ET. 'TDN Rising Star' LION OF JUSTICE (Into Mischief), a $1.1-million KEESEP yearling purchase, stretches to two turns following a jaw-dropping, front-running debut score with a 92 Beyer Speed Figure going a one-turn mile at Colonial Mar. 15. His dam Ever So Clever (Medaglia d'Oro), a 'TDN Rising Star' herself, won the 2017 GIII Fantasy S. and has also produced GSW Everso Mischievous (Into Mischief). Lion of Justice is campaigned in partnership by St. Elias Stable, Talla Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and...

3rd-KEE, $120k, OC125k/NW1, 3yo, 6f, 2:04 p.m. ET. Jim Bakke and Gerry Isbister's Tip Top Thomas (Volatile), who was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his debut win at Saratoga last August, returns to the races for the first time since finishing second behind Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) in the GI Champagne Stakes last October. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the $160,000 FTKOCT yearling is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Gray Attempt (Graydar) and to multiple graded placed Dua (Arrogate). CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Gunmetal (Gun Runner), who scratched out...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- In most circles, Saturday's G1 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline was but a foregone conclusion. The star of the show was widely expected to be Japan's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), a pair of placed efforts in America the only thing separating the colt and a perfect record. A brilliant winner of the G1 Saudi Cup about 600 miles of desert away six weeks ago, Forever Young surely had his World Cup rivals over a barrel. Any one of them would need...

7th-Aqueduct, $86,000, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 4-4, 4yo/up, 1m, 1:35.23, ft, 1/2 length. STAR OF WONDER (c, 4, Uncle Mo--Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats), a half-brother to Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), MGISW, $2,777,458, delivered as the even-money favorite in his 4-year-old debut here. The 'TDN Rising Star' was off to a slow start, but recovered nicely to advance into fourth through an opening quarter in :23.11. Locked and loaded but stuck in traffic approaching the quarter pole, Star of Wonder found racing room along the rail as they straightened for home and kicked...

7th-AQU, $86K, OC80k/C, 4yo/up, 1m, 4:22 p.m. ET. A debut winner by 3 1/2 lengths over the slop at Churchill Downs last summer, STAR OF WONDER (Uncle Mo) earned a 'TDN Rising Star' for the effort. The WinStar homebred then cleared an allowance condition under the Twin Spires in mid-September, and broke through on the main track there in late November when he faced optional claimers for the second time. Back on the tab at Payson Park by Feb. 1, the colt hails from the same Brad Cox shedrow as...

In racing, the advent of spring doesn't just mean delightful weather and foals capering through fields. It also means a multiplication of the number of graded events across the nation. The month of March boasted more graded races in the U.S. than January and February combined. With GI Kentucky Derby and Oaks preps in full swing, top older campaigners returning from winter breaks, and 2-year-old racing just around the corner, it's an exciting time in the sport. We took a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded...

The last week of preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks is upon us. The GI Ashland Stakes will be run Friday at Keeneland on opening day and Aqueduct will offer the GIII Gazelle Stakes the next day. The Gazelle came up predictably weak, but the Ashland has some intriguing contenders that could crack the top three or four come Friday. Last week, Quietside (Malibu Moon) was a convincing winner of the GII Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn and Five G (Vekoma) never looked back to win the GII Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Park...

We're on the cusp of the one-month mark to the GI Kentucky Derby and this Saturday marks the most important weekend of nine-furlong preps on the Triple Crown calendar, with significant stakes at Santa Anita, Keeneland, and Aqueduct. Next week the Top 12 expands to the Top 20 as the actual field begins to take shape. 1) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief-No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital...