A year after running five horses in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park, winning the Juvenile Fillies (G1) with British Idiom and the Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) with Covfefe, trainer Brad Cox has nearly doubled the size of his potential Breeders' Cup representation.
Speaking Oct. 14 at Keeneland, where he saddled Don Alberto Stable's Santa Guapa to a first-out maiden victory in a race for older fillies and mares on grass, Cox said he hopes to run as many as nine horses in the Breeders' Cup races Nov. 6-7 at the Lexington oval. If all race as intended, that would give him one of the deepest lineups of any trainer this year.
Last year, only Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien ran as many as nine horses, going winless at Santa Anita. Chad Brown ran eight, winning three races. Those two trainers led the way by starting 14 and 12 horses, respectively, during the 2018 Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs.
Cox's slate of 2020 Breeders' Cup prospects includes Monomoy Girl in the Longines Distaff (G1), Factor This and Beau Recall in the FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T), Arklow in the Longines Turf (G1T), Essential Quality in the TVG Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1), Aunt Pearl and Emro in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T), Abarta in the Juvenile Turf (G1T), and Knicks Go in the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile (G1).
"We felt like Fall Stars weekend was kind of a preview of what is to come Breeders' Cup Day," he said of his stable's results at the Lexington track opening weekend. "We feel comfortable here at Keeneland. Churchill is home and Keeneland is kind of our second home. I'm hoping we can have a big few days here."
After considering other fillies he trains to join Monomoy Girl in the Distaff, Cox said he elected to pass with Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Shedaresthedevil and graded stakes winner Bonny South after conferring with their owners. Shedaresthedevil will have a break before resuming racing next year, and Bonny South could have one more start, perhaps in the Falls City Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs Nov. 26, Cox said.
The Distaff will be the final start of Monomoy Girl's brilliant career unless plans change. Her owners—Monomoy Stables, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables—entered her into the Elite Sales consignment at The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's marquee breeding stock sale in Lexington. The sale is Nov. 8.
The 5-year-old daughter of Tapizar is 3-for-3 this year, capped by a win in the La Troienne Stakes Presented by Oak Grove Racing and Gaming (G1) at Churchill Downs Sept. 4. Monomoy Girl was the champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, counting the Kentucky Oaks and Distaff among her achievements, before she was sidelined in 2019 due to a variety of ailments.
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She provided Cox with his first Breeders' Cup victory before British Idiom and Covfefe added to his tally in 2019. They also became champions.
"Once we got (Monomoy Girl) back to the races, the goal was to get her back to the grade 1 level, and she has returned and been successful," Cox said. "It would mean a lot to the whole team and all of us affiliated with her. It would be great to win a grade 1 at the Breeders' Cup level after what's she's been through the last couple of years. It would be huge, to say the least. Words couldn't and wouldn't describe what it would mean to our camp."
She and speedy turf filly Aunt Pearl, the winner of the JPMorgan Chase Jessamine Stakes (G2T), will likely be the most backed by bettors of the trainer's Breeders' Cup runners, though Cox cautioned to not overlook Emro. She is 2-for-2 sprinting, including the Untapable Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
"She'll probably fly under the radar a little bit due to how dominant Aunt Pearl has been, but this filly has been pretty dominant herself," Cox said. "Excited about that filly."
He shares high hopes for Arklow, encouraged by how he elevated his performance with blinkers added in last month's Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes (G3T) at Kentucky Downs.
"If he's as good Nov. 7 as he is today, he's going to be tough," Cox said.
If the Dirt Mile overfills, Knicks Go will need to be chosen by the Breeders' Cup selection committee to gain entrance. He is 2-for-2 in 2020, including a track record-setting performance when he smoked 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland in 1:40.79, but both starts have come in allowance optional claimers.
A 4-year-old Paynter colt owned by Korea Racing Authority, Knicks Go won the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland in 2018 with prevous trainer Ben Colebrook before he was second to champion Game Winner in that year's Sentient Jet Juvenile at Churchill Downs. He began racing for Cox in 2020 after a winless 2019 campaign.
