Brad Cox

7th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, post time: 3:54 p.m. ET INVICTUS (Into Mischief), the first foal from 2019 GI Kentucky Oaks and 2020 GI Ballerina Stakes winner Serengeti Empress (Alternation), cost China Horse Club, Siena Farm and WinStar Farm $1.2 million at last year's Keeneland September Sale, and the Jan. 29 produce carries the WinStar colors for this first go. The bay, bred on similar cross to this sire's Grade I winners Life Is Good and Practical Joke, has been made the 3-1 choice on the morning line for...

On paper, there was a lot to like about Immersive (Nyquist) in Sunday's ninth race at Saratoga, a six-furlong maiden for 2-year-old fillies. She is by the top sire Nyquist, owned and bred by Godolphin and trained by Brad Cox. With those credentials, a short price might have been in order, but somehow the bay went off at 10-1. Looks like the bettors got this one wrong. After a perfect stalking trip under Manny Franco, Immersive won by two lengths and paid $22.80. The running time was 1:12.60 for the...

OCEANPORT, NJ-On paper, it appeared that a single horse, Idiomatic (Curlin), couldn't be beaten. That was until they ran Monmouth Park's GIII Molly Pitcher Stakes. Sent off the searing 1-9 choice in the scratched reduced field of five, the 2023 champion older mare stumbled a hair coming out of stall 6 as Kathleen O (Upstart) faced a much more dramatic misstep exiting the gate. While the latter was rushed into contention along the inside, the champion cruised effortlessly to the lead, doling out an opening quarter in a poky :25.57....

5th-ELP, $71K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 2:53 p.m. ET. TAPPAN STREET (Into Mischief), a $1 million-purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, makes his first start for CHC, Siena and WinStar. Trained by Brad Cox, the colt is the second to the races for GSP Virginia Key (Distorted Humor), who is also responsible for his older half-sister in-training Distorted d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro. Tappan Street's second dam, GSW Our Khrysty (Newfoundland), also produced GI Del Mar Debutante Stakes heroine Grace Adler (Curlin) and the recent GI Stephen Foster Stakes runner-up...

Making his first start around two turns and looking for a third straight victory in succession, Juddmonte homebred Dragoon Guard (Arrogate) was sent for the lead from his outside draw and made every pole a winning one in Saturday's GIII Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Pegged at 7-2 on the morning line and sharing the grey/roan coloring that runs rampant in his pedigree (sire, dam, grandsire, damsire and damsire's sire), Dragoon Guard--off as the 19-10 second-elect--was given a positive ride from Florent Geroux and led his rivals into the first...

Godolphin's Wet Paint (Blame) ships in from trainer Brad Cox's Kentucky base at Churchill Downs as the favorite for Sunday's GII Delaware Handicap, the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar in the 'First State.' That fact notwithstanding, she'll need to bring her best if she is to put a halt to a four-race skid dating back to a narrow victory in last year's GI CCA Oaks at Saratoga. Runner-up to the highly impressive Randomized (Nyquist) in the GI Alabama Stakes, the homebred was never a factor when eighth to stablemate...

Stonestreet Stables' Emery inhaled pacesetting Mystic Lake in the final strides to earn her first graded victory in the GIII Victory Ride Stakes at Aqueduct Thursday. The 3-5 favorite sat off the pace as Mystic Lake was pressed by Halina's Forte through fractions of :21.72 and :44.38. Emery loomed a threat three wide approaching the lane, but Mystic Lake skipped clear and looked home free in upper stretch only to have the favorite find another gear late to get up to win by 3/4 lengths. "Short field, I was a...

Stonestreet Stable's Emery (More Than Ready), whose lone career loss to date came when fourth in the GI Frizette Stakes at Aqueduct last October, returns to the New York oval as the 6-5 morning-line favorite in the GIII Victory Ride Stakes Thursday. The 6 1/2-furlong race with a field of five is the lone graded event on tap for the holiday. Trained by Brad Cox, Emery was a first-out winner at Saratoga last August before finishing some five lengths adrift of champion Just F Y I (Justify) in the Frizette....

With the Breeders' Cup a little over four months away, the 'Win and You're In' tickets to the signature event, the GI Longines Classic, are definitely numbered. The road to Del Mar currently goes through Churchill Downs on Saturday as Classic hopefuls enter the starting gate for the GI Stephen Foster Stakes. Looking to punch his ticket to the seaside oval is Godolphin homebred First Mission (Street Sense). The 'TDN Rising Star' certainly burned brightest when he took home the GIII Essex Handicap by five lengths at Oaklawn Park in...

9th-Churchill Downs, $122,102, Msw, 6-21, 3yo/up, 7f, 1:22.63, ft, neck. MOST WANTED (c, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}--Beach Walk, by Distorted Humor), a half-brother to young WinStar stallion Life Is Good (Into Mischief), Hwt. Older Horse-UAE at 9 1/2-11f, MGISW, $4,541,700, wasn't much of a secret here and was sent off as the 4-5 favorite for this unveiling. Not off to the cleanest of beginnings from his outside draw, Most Wanted broke inward and bumped into a rival at the start. He raced in fifth through fractions of :22.58 and :45.56...

5th-Churchill Downs, $123,375, Msw, 6-9, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:37.25, fm, neck. MIXOLOGIST (f, 3, Frosted--Masquerade {MSP, $233,873}, by Silent Name {Jpn}), the well-related half-sister to both Princess Grace (Karakontie {Jpn}) and Catnip (Kitten's Joy), earned a 5-1 shot in her debut Sunday. Outrun by the half the field to her outside, she raced at the back of the pack as Grapes for Eloise (Liam's Map) paced the field through fractions of :23.32 and :48.69. Making an outside run into the turn, Mixologist still had plenty of work to do as...

With 'TDN Rising Star' Nash (Medaglia d'Oro) bypassing the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill Downs for the GI Woody Stephens S. at Saratoga, the new headliner for Sunday's race under the Twin Spires is Who Dey (Liam's Map). Installed as a 5-2 shot on the morning-line in the Matt Winn, trainer Tom Drury opted to scratch his colt from Friday's Best of Ohio Green Carpet S. at Belterra Park for a chance to return to Churchill. The 3-year-old was last seen finishing fourth behind GI Preakness S. hero Seize...