Brad Cox

One day after 'TDN Rising Star' Gamine's dominant romp in the GI Longines Test S., fellow Into Mischief sophomore filly Mundaye Call turned in a similarly head-turning performance. The pricey Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad began her career with Don Chatlos, Jr., missing in her Saratoga debut almost exactly a year ago by a head at odds-on and finishing one slot ahead of Secondary Market (Into Mischief), who took a salty Saratoga allowance Sunday. Mundaye Call set the pace before fading to seventh in the GI Spinaway S. Sept. 1, but resurfaced...

A mostly well-matched group of nine turfers line up in Saturday's GI United Nations S. at Monmouth Park. With a somewhat surprising lack of even one Chad Brown trainee signed on, conditioner Mike Maker owns the lone chance to complete an exacta. The 2017 UN winner sends out reformed claimers Aquaphobia (Giant's Causeway) and Muggsamatic (Any Given Saturday). The former was scooped up for $62,500 in January and promptly took a Gulfstream starter stake over Muggsamatic--then trained by Jason Servis--in February. He was fourth in the GIII Mervin Muniz Memorial...

4th-Indiana Grand, $32,500, Alw, 7-13, (NW2LX), 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.42, fm. NASTY (f, 3, Street Sense--Valiant Passion {GISP, $132,900}, by Lion Heart), firming into 4-5 favoritism to build on an eight-length graduation when trying turf and two turns for the first time June 18, LNJ Foxwoods's Nasty traveled like a winner every step of a Monday allowance at Indiana Grand and came home a measured one-length winner. Wrangled back to sit in a stalking second beneath Fernando de la Cruz, the $230,000 Keeneland September yearling acquisition traveled strongly down...

The running of the GII Ruffian S. Saturday at Belmont lacked the sizzle that was part of the narrative for several other major races over the weekend, but that wasn't the fault of Monomoy Girl (Tapizar). She did exactly what was asked of her. She showed up and beat four overmatched horses in an effort that was more perfunctory than impressive. "This was a nice race for her to come back into stakes competition and now we can tackle some bigger races and a tougher field, too," jockey Florent Geroux...

Champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) was bet like she could not lose at 1-9 in Belmont's GII Ruffian S. and duly delivered with a facile success in this five-horse affair. Glued to pacesetting Mother Mother's (Pioneerof the Nile) outside hip through a :22.84 opening quarter, the chestnut stuck to her like glue through a :45.55 half-mile. Drawing even on the backstretch, Monomoy Girl stuck her head in front on the far turn and rolled clear in the lane. Vexatious (Giant's Causeway) was the only one trying to run with the Eclipse...

Champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) will face four overmatched rivals in her return to graded competition in Saturday's GII Ruffian S. at Belmont Park. After missing her entire 4-year-old season due to several different setbacks, the Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group and Bethlehem Stables colorbearer made her first start since capturing the 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff a winning one, annexing an optional claimer in impressive fashion in the Churchill Downs slop May 16. Monomoy Girl, winner of the 2018 GI Kentucky Oaks, is a perfect three-for-three at the...

Making his graded stakes debut and looking to give trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux a sweep of the evening's two graded races, Godolphin's Shared Sense (Street Sense) got a cozy inside trip, tipped out four wide into the stretch and outfinished an unlucky Major Fed (Ghostzapper) to win the GIII Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand. Last but one early, with only Major Fed behind, Shared Sense took the inside route down the backstretch and made two-path progress into the second turn. Major Fed, consigned to a wide run...

Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), heroine of Oaklawn's GIII Honeybee S. Mar. 7, is the clear-cut horse to beat in Wednesday evening's GIII Indiana Oaks. The bay followed a well-beaten third behind division heavyweights Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Venetian Harbor (Munnings) in the GIII Fantasy S. May 1 with a powerful optional claiming tally at Churchill Downs last time June 5. "She ran a huge one," trainer Brad Cox said. "We were looking just to get a race in her between the Fantasy and wherever we ended up, which ended up being the...

It's rare to see a GI Kentucky Derby prep on a weekday, much rarer to find it on a July weekday, but an evenly-matched field of 10 horses will contest the GIII Indiana Derby Wednesday at Indiana Grand with 34 qualifying points for the Run for the Roses up for grabs. Lloyd Madison Farms' Major Fed (Ghostzapper) looks for some racing luck after several wide trips along the Derby trail. A sharp maiden winner on New Year's Day at Fair Grounds, the homebred was second in a division of the...

Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables' Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) breezed a half-mile in company in an easy :49.30 over the Belmont main track Saturday morning as she completed her preparations for the July 11 GII Ruffian S. at Big Sandy. Partnered with Javier Castellano, the 5-year-old worked in the company of her multiple stakes-winning stablemate A Bit of Both (Paynter) and was timed in splits of :12.30 and :24.40 before galloping out five-eighths of a mile in 1:02.10. "Today it was a very...

Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) will run next in the GII Ruffian S. on July 11 at Belmont Park, reports trainer Brad Cox. The champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, Monomoy Girl was sidelined for nearly a year and a half before making a successful return to the races with a May 16 allowance win at Churchill Downs. Like the Ruffian, her comeback race was a one-turn mile event. "She's really training well and we feel like the one-turn mile at Belmont will really suit her well right now and...

On the same day the GI Kentucky Derby lost top contender Maxfield (Street Sense) to a condylar fracture, another hopeful, Wells Bayou (Lookin At Lucky), was also declared from the Derby trail with bone bruising, according to trainer Brad Cox. The story was first reported by Daily Racing Form. "We sent him over to the clinic, I just wasn't happy with the way he was moving the past week," Cox told TDN. "We sent him for a bone scan and he has some bone bruising. Obviously it's a step back...