It was a big Saturday for coach Brad Cox, who won the GI Arkansas Derby against Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), and the story may not change this week. Cox poses serious threats in several major races, among them GI Ashland S., GI Blue Grass S., and GII Wood Memorial. All of which means it’s the perfect time for Cox to join the team on the TDN Writers’ Room podcast presented by Keeneland. For the second time this year, Cox is Green Group Guest of the week.
Understandably, the coach is a big fan of Angel of Empire.
“I think he has the ability to win (the Derby),” he said. “He showed that on Saturday in the Arkansas Derby. Based on the numbers, he has a bit of a question mark, but I think he answered a lot of questions and he improved a lot on Saturday. We still have a lot of work to do. We have three jobs coming up. But I’m excited about what he was able to achieve on Saturday. I think he needs to go a step further based on the numbers and think he has the ability to do that.”
But he doesn’t count on anything, especially in a year where Forte (Violence) looks like the clear leader of the department.
“We have to get better and we might have to let Forte trip our toes to beat him,” Cox said. “But 20 horse school, it’s a demanding and challenging race. If you make the field that’s why you go, a lot can happen. You saw that last year. You saw it with Mine That Bird. Longshots winning the race may not necessarily be the best horse, but they had the ride or they had so-called luck in the race that day.”
Cox is also said to be the main character in GI Kentucky Oaks and can be loved in Wet Paint (Blame), who won the GIII Fantasy S. last Saturday in Oaklawn. He also has a Punchbowl, one that starts in Friday’s Ashland at Keeneland, and Botanical (Medaglia d’Oro), the winner of four consecutive games, all on the Tapeta surface at Turfway Park.
“Punchbowl is a very talented girl,” he said. “We are throwing a lot at her in a short amount of time. I quickly ran back to her to break her maidenhood. She has come from speed to break her daughter, so that gives me a little more confidence and makes me think it won’t take her too long when we stretch her. She was almost cornered all the way, but she reacted well, galloped well and I think she got ahead of a solid group. We just moved her to Keeneland. She is stable. So I’m optimistic that, with a nice ride, hopefully she’ll be a first-grade winner after Friday.”
Click here to play.
Cox will send Verification (justification) in Green Grass. He didn’t run his best race as he finished fourth in the GII Rebel S., but Cox hopes he can deliver on Saturday.
“He was a good pony,” he said of Verification. “He really is. He was hugely successful on his 3-year-old debut in Oaklawn. In Rebel, he only lost a bit of position from 3/8 to 1/4. He didn’t really advance there in a key part of the race and he went from third or fourth and finished eighth in the eighth column. He’s retreating and then he’s regrouping and moving on. So it was a bit of a weird ride. I really don’t know what to do with it. I hope that he’s better than that and he’ll have a slightly better ride and maybe be a little more focused or engaged. He worked with the Hit Show on Friday morning in Keeneland. They worked very, very well together. So I expect him to run big.
Elsewhere on the podcast, also sponsored by cooler,https://lanesend.com/ Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Purebred Woodford, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owner and Breeder, at the end of the alley, XBTV, Racing 1/st, WinStar Farm And https://www.threechimneys.com/ Purebred West Point, the team of Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley revisited last week’s action, headed by the GI Florida Derby. Not everyone was astounded by the Forte race. The issue of the Florida Derby being initially mistimed also led to some debate. They also look forward to what happens this weekend, another crucial round of preparations for the Derby.
For Video only version, click here and for Audio only, click here.
