Brad Cox

Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) did not disappoint her backers as she lived up to favoritism and won Saturday's Untapable S. in New Orleans. The bay broke her maiden at second asking by a head at Saratoga Sept. 3, but was well-beaten in the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland Oct. 6. Returning to her winning ways against allowance company after her race was taken off the grass at Churchill Downs Nov. 26, the filly went off at 8-5 here. The Brad Cox trainee was in-tight along the rail before the...

Boxing Day is not a holiday observed on the American calendar--thanks, Revolutionary generation. However, the day after Christmas is circled in red by the horse racing cadre because it means one thing: Opening Day at Santa Anita Park. This Tuesday, an 11-race card kicks off at 2 p.m. ET under the picturesque San Gabriel mountains in Arcadia, California--six of which are graded stakes. To entice the horseplayer, the Classic Meet sports a $1 Pick Six, a 14 percent takeout on both the .50 Early and Late Pick 5, and we...

2nd-Fair Grounds, $55,000, Msw, 12-23, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.98, ft, 5 1/4 lengths. ETHAN ENERGY (c, 2, Uncle Mo--Sass and Class, by Harlan's Holiday), a well-beaten sixth on debut sprinting at Keeneland Oct. 22, took a major step forward stretching to two turns at second asking here. Removing blinkers and adding Lasix for this, the 2-1 chance chased in fifth rounding the clubhouse turn. Racing under a tight hold by Florent Geroux, he began to settle down the backstretch in that same slot, made a flashy four-wide blitz approaching the...

Some trivia for you equine enthusiasts out there. Who is the only horse to have two graded stakes named after them? The answer is Bayakoa (Arg). The Ron McAnally trainee who won a pair of GI Breeders' Cup Distaffs has one at Oaklawn, while its counterpart takes place this Friday at Los Alamitos Racecourse. The Grade III event out West pits morning-line favorite and Arizona-bred Desert Dawn (Cupid) versus six others going 1 1/16 miles. The 4-year-old filly trained by Phil D'Amato is loaded with class, even though she has...

Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), a powerful winner of this spring's GI Arkansas Derby and a rallying third as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby, has returned to training at WinStar Training Center and is expected to rejoin trainer Brad Cox at either Fair Grounds or Oaklawn Park within the next month. The Albaugh Family Stables colorbearer was given a freshening after concluding his six-race sophomore campaign with a dead-heat fourth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. June 10 and a close third-place finish in a roughly run renewal...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6 1/2f, 12:20pm Godolphin's SPLIT SCREEN (Uncle Mo) gets her start for trainer Brad Cox, who strikes with 26% of his firsters. Having been working along the Kentucky circuit of late, she posted her latest trial at Turfway Dec. 2, covering five furlongs in 1:01 3/5 (34/62) over that oval's synthetic surface. The homebred is out of SW Divided Attention (A.P. Indy), a half-sister to Grade I winner Folklore.   TJCIS PPS

With the team at Juddmonte still "floating on air" after a pair of wins on Breeders' Cup Saturday, the blue-blooded Mullion (c, 3, Into Mischief--Brooch, by Empire Maker) added to a banner weekend for the international operation with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Churchill Downs Nov. 5. Sidelined for more than 14 months following a strong debut second--beaten just a nose--going six furlongs at Ellis Park in late August of his 2-year-old season, the full-brother to promoted GI Kentucky Derby winner and Juddmonte stallion Mandaloun proved well worth the...

Barry and Joni Butzow, who bred and race graded-stakes winning 'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings), are the recipients of the 2023 John Deere Award, which recognizes breeders who were represented in this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' Challenge series over the course of the year. The Deere Award winner was determined by a drawing among all breeders who either won a Breeders' Cup race or a Challenge series race. NTRA Advantage and John Deere will award the Butzows a John Deere Gator...

Warrant (Constitution--Whisper Number, by First Samurai), winner of the 2021 GIII Oklahoma Derby and narrowly defeated into second in the GI Santa Anita H. the following spring, has been retired from racing and will enter stud in 2024 at Blackstone Farm in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. He will begin his stud career at a fee of $4,000 S&N terms. A homebred for Twin Creeks Farm and trained by Brad Cox, Warrant won the 2021 Texas Derby and was runner-up in the GIII West Virginia Derby before winning the Remington feature by...

The annual Thanksgiving weekend "Stars of Tomorrow" card at Churchill Downs is designed to highlight aspiring 2-year-olds right before they launch into their sophomore seasons. An intriguing subplot to this year's edition, however, put the spotlight on several human rather than equine participants who could be on the cusp of bigger and better things. Eighteen-year-old jockey Axel Concepcion just might be on his way to winning an Eclipse Award as the nation's top apprentice for 2023 despite not starting racing at American mainland tracks until Feb. 19 and also having...

Having come out on the losing side of a couple of tight photos in graded-stakes company earlier this season, BBN Racing's Trademark (Upstart) was finally on the winning end of things Friday after dropping his nose down on the line just ahead of 'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) in the GII Clark S. at Churchill Downs. The consistent Il Miracolo (Gun Runner) was a distant third. The 13-1 chance, drawn five in a field reduced to nine by the scratching of Happy American (Runhappy), Trademark broke cleanly and...

Churchill Downs will host two Grade III races to go with your turkey and gravy Thursday, while Del Mar will add its own graded event for dessert. The GIII Cardinal S. opens the holiday action in Louisville with a field of seven fillies and mares expected to go nine furlongs over the Churchill turf. CHP Racing's Saffron Moon (Malibu Moon), the 2-1 morning-line favorite, is making her first start against stakes company for trainer Chad Brown. The 4-year-old has three wins in four turf appearances and is coming off a...