Brad Cox

The first foal by the Grade I-placed 'TDN Rising Star' Loggins (Ghostzapper--Beyond Blame, by Blame), a colt, was born Jan. 23, 2025, at Endeavor Farm in Midway, Kentucky. The bay is the fourth produce from his dam, Coal Creek Farm's 12-year-old My Heart Goes On (Albertus Maximus), a two-time stakes winner of better than $132,000. Third dam One for You (Dayjur) produced a pair of black-type winners, including the filly Una Palabra to the cover of Ghostzapper's 'Rising Star' son McCraken, and was herself a half-sister to two full stakes...

This could only happen to Brad Cox. He trained the best 2-year-old filly in the country last year as Eclipse Award winner Immersive (Nyquist) whipped everything she faced, including eight challengers in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Earlier this year, she looked like the runaway leader among the fillies eyeing the GI Kentucky Oaks, but came down with a minor injury and will not be ready in time for the Oaks. For most other trainers that would have been a severe setback, losing out on a chance they may...

Multiple graded winner Fulsome (Into Mischief--Flourish, by Distorted Humor) was represented by his first Kentucky-bred foal when Addadore (Star Guitar) produced a filly Jan. 23. The foal was bred by Todd and Angie Lewis's Westbrook Stables and foaled in Nicholasville. "This filly hit the ground running; stood in 34 minutes," said Todd Lewis. "Plenty of bone and a good top line." Westbrook Stables bred Soul of an Angel (Atreides), winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, who was honored with the Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter...

In the Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds it was Simply Joking (Practical Joke) who took home the prize with a gate to wire display and the 20 points which can be applied to her 'Road to the Kentucky Oaks' account. The 3-year-old came into the race having only one other start under her belt when the Pennsylvania-bred captured the Letellier Memorial Stakes in New Orleans Dec. 21. Backed as the 8-5 choice here, Simply Joking was handed a rather easy lead and proceeded to make every pole a winning...

Built (Hard Spun), a 6 3/4-length, front-running winner over Magnitude (Not This Time) in the Gun Runner Stakes Dec. 21, has been tabbed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for Saturday's GIII Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds. The Lecomte offers 42 points (20-10-6-4-2) on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby. The Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners colorbearer was able to dictate the pace through easy fractions of :24 3/5 and :49 1/5 and drew off impressively to earn a field-best 92 Beyer Speed Figure while facing just four rivals that day. Built...

5th-Fair Grounds, $59,170, Alw (NW3$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 1-16, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 1:45.59, gd, 1 length. ENCINO (c, 4, Nyquist--Glittering Jewel, by Bernardini), a late scratch from last year's GI Kentucky Derby, was sidelined since capturing the GIII Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Apr. 13. He was backed as the 1-9 favorite in this return while facing just three rivals. He was sent to the front by Florent Geroux, led through fractions of :23.71 and :47.21, and, after some anxious moments in the stretch, dug down gamely to hold Accretive (Practical...

Leading all trainers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Steve Asmussen and Brad Cox-who finished 2024 with 96 victories apiece--sent out a combined 1,038 starters throughout the nine meets at Kentucky's five thoroughbred racetracks. Approximately 24% of Asmussen's North America-leading 407 overall victories came in Kentucky, while about 41% of Cox's 243 seasonal wins came in his home state. Asmussen, who started 670 horses in the state last year, won meet titles at Churchill (spring and fall), Ellis Park (tied with Brendan Walsh) and Kentucky Downs (tied with Walsh and Joe...

Vanderbilt (Into Mischief) took the lion's share of the pari-mutuel action in Saturday's fourth race from Gulfstream Park and jumped as the 4-5 chalk, but New York-bred River Thames (c, 3, Maclean's Music--Proportionality, by Discreet Cat) proved the fly in the ointment, turning in a flawless debut performance to be named the newest 'TDN Rising Star' The clearest betting alternative to Vanderbilt at odds of 29-10, the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton NY-Bred Sale graduate was under a busy ride early from John Velazquez, but had gained a forward position three-wide from third...

4th-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 1:49p.m. ET Florida will play host to two noteworthy maidens on the Gulfstream Park card Saturday, the first being this six panel maiden sprint, that drew the noteworthy connections with well-bred horses. Lining up against this field of 11 is $1.1-million KEESEP purchase VANDERBILT (Into Mischief). Out of GI Longines Test and Humana Distaff Stakes victress American Gal (Concord Point), the colt was purchased by Grandview Equine to race in partnership with LNJ Foxwoods, Whisper Hill Farm, and Gainesway Stable. The second dam was herself...

A total of 1,123 entries, including 81 Group or Grade I winners from no fewer than 21 racing jurisdictions from all over the world were received for the 2025 Saudi Cup meeting, to be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22 and King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh. The entries were released Friday by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia (JCSA). (See TDN Europe for the entries to the meeting's turf events) Some $38.1 million in prize money will be on offer over the course of the weekend, headed up...

With 50 horses stabled at Payson Park Training Center this winter for the first time in his two-decade career, the 2020 and '21 Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox now has a geographically easier time targeting Florida races. On Wednesday, Cox won with his first Tampa Bay Downs starter since 2019. And since Nov. 30, he's compiled a 1-3-0 record from six starts at Gulfstream Park, where he started only 50 runners over the past five years, generally by shipping in from his customary bases at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park,...

The GI Breeders' Cup NetJets Juvenile Fillies winner and leading candidate for Eclipse 2-year-old filly honors, Immersive (Nyquist--Gap Year, by Bernardini), will be given some time off due to bone bruising, according to a Thursday post on Godolphin's website. The homebred and Brad Cox trainee--who also won the GI Spinaway Stakes and GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes--will likely be off until summer. Godolphin's Director of Bloodstock, Michael Banahan, said, "Brad [Cox] wasn't happy with the way she was moving so she came home for diagnostics that confirmed the issue. While obviously...