Brad Cox

3rd-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 5fT, 1:50p.m. ET Profiled last year by our colleagues at TDN Europe, Benny The Waiter (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) has been shipped to the states to make his US debut in a turf dash at Gulfstream Park. A 280,000gns Craven Breeze-Up purchase by Repole Stables, this is the half-brother to GSP-Eng Space Legend (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) while his dam, unraced Newton's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), is herself a half-sister to SW-Ire & GSP-Fr Treasure Isle (Ire) (No Nay Never). The group black type...

Florence, KY--"Okay, I'm coming!" said Kaitlin Free. Bursting into a small room sandwiched between the announcer's booth and Free's broadcast studio at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, the Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) analyst was only halfway through applying her mascara and eyeliner, but that wasn't going to stop her from watching Flood Zone (Frosted) take the GII Gotham Stakes. With half her face on and the other 'au naturel,' Free's eyes were glued to the screen as she watched intently, offered an assessment as the field blazed for the far...

GIII Gotham Stakes winner Flood Zone (Frosted), a new addition last week to the TDN Derby Top 12 after a 98 Beyer figure in the Aqueduct race, will reportedly be routed to the Apr. 5 G2 UAE Derby at Meydan, according to a post on X from DRF's Marcus Hersh. Trainer Brad Cox had also been considering the Mar. 29 GI Florida Derby and the Apr. 5 GII Wood Memorial Stakes for Flood Zone, who made his first start for the Cox barn in the Gotham after he was purchased...

3rd-TAM, $53K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:18 p.m. ET. CHA CHA QUICK (Into Mischief) makes her first start for breeder Stonestreet. Out of SP Peggy Jane (Kafwain), the homebred counts as a full-sister champion female sprinter Gamine. The Brad Cox trainee hails from an extended female family which includes Canadian champion grass horse Dynamic Sky (Sky Mesa). TJCIS PPS 6th-TAM, $53K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 2:55 p.m. ET. Another homebred exits the Tampa barrier in Godolphin's Playa Del Mar (Into Mischief). Trained by Bill Mott, the colt's dam is GISP Flor...

Dual Eclipse winning trainer Brad Cox is drawing up intended targets for Flood Zone's (Frosted) next start after the colt took home the GIII Gotham Stakes at the Big A last weekend. The trainer said that possibilities include the Mar. 29 running of the GI Florida Derby and also two races scheduled for Apr. 5--the GII Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct and the GII UAE Derby at Meydan. Flood Zone stablemate and GI Florida Derby contender Tappan Street (Into Mischief) continues to tune up at Payson Park. Most recently, the...

It was a busy weekend with GI Kentucky Oaks preps being run at Santa Anita, Aqueduct and Gulfstream. None of the winners did enough to crack the top four, but they all have a license to improve. We've dropped the bottom three from last week's list--Running Away (Gun Runner), Runnin N Gunnin (Gun Runner) and White Rocks (Frosted)--and replaced them with horses who appear to have more potential. It will be a quiet week as there is not a single stakes race for 3-year-old fillies that will be run this...

Purchased privately by Wathnan Racing and transferred to Brad Cox following a sharp maiden win at second asking at Gulfstream Park Jan. 4, Flood Zone (Frosted) posted a 17-1 upset for his new connections in Saturday's GIII Gotham S. going a one-turn mile at the Big A. Sent to the front by Reylu Gutierrez, the blinkered bay was content to slot back into a three-wide and pressing third through an opening quarter in :23.86. He hooked up with unbeaten New York-bred and favored 'TDN Rising Star' Sand Devil (Violence) on...

6th-Fair Grounds, $53,000, Alw, 3-1, (NW1X), 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:42.23, ft, 10 1/2 lengths. JUST A TOUCH (c, 4, Justify--Touching Beauty {GSW, $183,166}, by Tapit) was training 'exceptionally well' ahead of a pending return to action, Qatar Racing U.S. advisor Fergus Galvin told TDN Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack on Feb. 21, and those words proved more than prescient, as the 4-year-old colt galloped his rivals into the ground, suggesting the sky is the limit in the handicap division for 2025. Ridden forward from gate three, the bay colt had...

Flood Zone (c, 3, Frosted--Curls for Girls, by Curlin) is heading straight into the deep end. Purchased privately by Wathnan Racing and transferred to Brad Cox following a flashy maiden win versus Florida-breds going 6 1/2 furlongs at second asking at Gulfstream Park Jan. 4, the bay will stretch to a one-turn mile for Saturday's GIII Gotham Stakes at the Big A. The Gotham, co-headlined by unbeaten New York-breds 'TDN Rising Star' Sand Devil (Violence) and Sacrosanct (Honest Mischief), offers 105 points (50-25-15-10-5) on the road to the GI Kentucky...

The GIII Honeybee S., rescheduled for one day due to cold weather at Oaklawn, figured to be the key GI Kentucky Oaks prep run so far this year. And it was. Our No. 1 in previous polls Muhimma (Munnings) ran well to finish third, but it was not enough for her to keep her top spot. Take Charge Milady (Take Charge Indy) was 10th and Look Forward (Bolt d'Oro) was seventh. Off those performances both have dropped out of the Top 10. This will be a big weekend for Oaks-bound...

If you're going to make your stakes debut in graded company, may as well go big, right? Alexander Helios (Cairo Prince) certainly thought so as he took his grudge match with Banishing (Ghostzapper) down to the wire in the GIII Razorback Handicap. It took him eight tries to break his maiden, and a new trainer, but that 2 1/4-length victory beneath the Twin Spires in November 2023 yielded him a 93 Beyer in his first attempt at 1 1/8-miles for the barn of Saffie Joseph Jr.. It took three attempts...

Shortleaf Stable's Quietside (Malibu Moon) had been knocking on the door of stakes success since she was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following her debut win at Saratoga last August, but finally the filly just broke the door down with an emphatic victory in the GIII Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park Sunday. Five G (Vekoma) rocketed from her far outside post at the start of the 1 1/16-mile race and cleared the field, with Quietside, who broke just to her inside, shadowing her move into first turn. Favored Muhimma (Munnings),...