It started more than 30 years ago, when he was a young boy growing up in Louisville, just a few blocks away from Churchill Downs. Each year, without fail, the warm, spring weather and the flowers blooming around him filled Brad Cox's mind with thoughts of being inside the famed grounds of the nearby racetrack for the Kentucky Derby (G1).
His perspective changed in 2001 when he was working for trainer Dallas Stewart and was part of the team that prepared Dollar Bill for a start in the Run for the Roses.
His dream then shifted to becoming a trainer and saddling a Kentucky Derby winner of his own in the city where he grew up.
"I want to win the Kentucky Derby more than any other race," the 41-year-old Cox says. "It means everything in the Thoroughbred industry."
Cox took out his trainer's license in 2004, and since then and this past January, when he accepted an Eclipse Award as the sport's outstanding trainer, he has checked some coveted and prestigious boxes.
Grade 1 wins. Check.
Breeders' Cup winners. Check.
Champions. Check.
Yet in the course of amassing 1,558 wins and $86.5 million in earnings, a glaring blank spot on his résumé has been the Kentucky Derby.
None of his victories have come in the opening jewel of the Triple Crown and even though he has racked up seven Breeders' Cup wins and a third-place finish with Owendale in the 2019 Preakness Stakes (G1), he has yet to have a single starter in the classic on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs that fueled his boyhood dreams.
Part of it has been bad luck, part of it has been injuries, and another element has been a desire to saddle not just a Kentucky Derby starter, but to send out a bona fide, blue-chip contender.
"I've always said it's not about going to the Kentucky Derby. I don't want to go for the experience. I want to win it," Cox said. "I didn't want to skip in under the bubble. I wanted to go with a horse who had a legitimate chance to win."
When the starting gates open May 1 for the 147th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Cox will indeed have not just one but two starters and he can take pride in accomplishing his life-long goal on his own terms.
While one of the pair is Juddmonte Farms' grade 2 winner Mandaloun , who seems a more intriguing prospect than his 15-1 morning-line odds, Cox will also send out the 3-year-old to beat in the 2021 Triple Crown in Godolphin's Essential Quality , the undefeated 2-year-old champion and 2-1 morning-line choice.
Brad Cox is finally heading to the Kentucky Derby and he certainly has a "legitimate" chance to win it.
"Brad is getting his rewards now and it's very well-earned. There's no way anyone can wish him anything but the best," said Garrett O'Rourke, general manager of Juddmonte Farms. "In this sport, good horses attract good staff and wins attract better owners and then winning becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When that happens, it's a just reward for the hard work people like Brad puts in."
As much as Cox has reached the upper levels of success in his chosen profession by feats such as winning four Breeders' Cup stakes last fall or training horses such as two-time champion Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality, what has been happening to him the last few weeks is a new experience. Being at the forefront of the Kentucky Derby creates the kind of stress and pressure that can only be matched by a Triple Crown bid at the Belmont Stakes (G1).
Every move by his horses, especially Essential Quality, has been analyzed and over analyzed. His cell phone has been blowing up with calls and texts on a daily basis. As the days have grown closer to Kentucky Derby Day, an increasing number of media members have been camping outside his barn, waiting to talk with him. There have been an endless stream of television interviews and podcasts.
And all the while, aside from making sure everything is proceeding perfectly with Essential Quality and Mandaloun, he has overseen a large stable that includes older grade 1-winning stars such as Monomoy Girl, Knicks Go , and Shedaresthedevil. He also trains Travel Column, a 3-1 co-second choice in the trainer's bid for a third Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) victory on Derby eve. Plans for the arrival of 2-year-olds have to be made. Problems have to be addressed, such as an elevated fever and white blood cell count last week that knocked Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Caddo River out of Derby consideration. There were even a couple of days last week when Cox himself was a little under the weather after receiving a second COVID-19 vaccination.
"It's hasn't been easy. It's been crazy and intense," said Cox, who has 21 grade 1 wins, including one in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and two in the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), "but I'd rather be in a position where people are talking to me than someone else.
"It sounds funny to say, but I really don't have any time for my mind to wander or to feel the pressure. I know I have to stay focused on the horses so they can deliver big performances, so I'm taking it all in. I'm trying to get through the training in the morning and then give the media some time. I know there are lots of racing fans who want to know and deserve to know what's going on. I'm happy to be in this position, and I hope it's the first of many to come."
While grade 2 winner Mandaloun is attempting to bounce back from a disappointing sixth in the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), Cox has both a source and vacuum for pressure in the undefeated Essential Quality. The homebred son of Tapit out of the Elusive Quality mare Delightful Quality has met every challenge put before him, winning both of his races at 3 (one on a sloppy track), capturing the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1), and even winning his six-furlong career debut at Churchill Downs that, on paper, seemed too short for him.
"Brad is facing pressure times two with two starters. But he's low key, and he focuses on his horses and that's where he's most comfortable. He's proven his horsemanship, and he'd be the first to give credit to the horse. If there's pressure, Essential Quality has relieved it. He's showed up every time," said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin USA. "He knew he had a talented colt after three or four works. Essential Quality looked like a two-turn horse, but the good ones overcome obstacles, and he did by winning in a sprint in his debut despite getting in a world of trouble. Brad said after that, 'I don't think they'll beat him going long,' and the rest is history. Essential Quality has answered every question that's been posed to him. He deserves all the credit, and we've been fortunate enough to be on the bandwagon with him."
Godolphin added Cox to its roster of trainers two years ago when it was looking for ways to increase its presence in the Midwest and tracks such as Oaklawn Park and Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, and the quick success it enjoyed with him played a role in Bell agreeing with the decision of a Kentucky Derby novice such as Cox to give a 2-year-old champion just two preps (the Southwest Stakes, G3, and the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, G2) before the arduous test of the 1 1/4-mile Run for the Roses.
"Brad had it figured out quickly what he wanted to do with him at 3 with the two races. He's a great planner and a keen observer," Bell said. "It does not take him long to formulate an opinion on what he's seeing. He's laser-focused on his horses, and he knows how to spot his horses. He knows their abilities. And equally important, he knows the other horses' abilities. I've asked him if he's got a photographic memory. He always knows who is where and who is doing what."
The road to having the favorite for the opening leg of the Triple Crown was not an easy one. After starting in 2004, Cox did not win more than 20 races until 2010. His breakthrough year was 2016, when he was 15th nationally in both wins and earnings with 151 and $6.2 million after totals of 98 and $3.6 million a year earlier.
Turning training into a family enterprise has helped Cox grow into a trainer with 216 wins and earnings of $18.9 million in his Eclipse Award-winning 2020 campaign. Two of Cox's three sons, Blake and Bryson who were born to his first wife, work alongside him. His wife and the mother of his youngest son (Brodie), Livia Frazar, is a racetrack veterinarian.
Blake, 20, began taking online courses four years ago as a sophomore in high school so he could join his father's outfit and recalls the humble roots that have blossomed into botanical gardens.
"When I was little, he had about 12 horses and we were making trips to Turfway Park, Indiana, Delaware; so to see him at the top now, that's cool. People always struggle at first, but he pushed through," said Blake, who works as an assistant trainer. "I haven't seen a change in him. He might work harder with more horses, but he's very level-headed.
"He's my dad," he added. "I've learned everything from him and there's a special bond. He's a great person to learn and work from. It means a lot that I can call him both 'Dad' and 'Boss.'"
Blake said both he and Bryson are looking forward to the walkover from the barn area to the paddock on Derby Day, yet for their dad there's another moment on his mind. It will happen when Luis Saez hops aboard Essential Quality and Florent Geroux is sitting atop Mandaloun and both horses walk onto the track. That's when he expects to feel the full impact of being a trainer with two horses in the Kentucky Derby.
"It will all hit me when I see the horses on the track," Cox said. "Then there's about 10 minutes before the race, and it's out of my hands. I've done everything I can do, and the anxiety builds, especially when you have a favorite."
As nervous as he may be, after that, Cox will revert to his true nature. Don't bother looking for him in the owner's boxes. As he does before claiming races and grade 1 stakes, he'll head over to an area near the tunnel leading onto the track, where he'll stand in front of a television monitor, watching and rooting just like millions of fans across the country.
"I've always been someone who watches a race on television. I really like to zero in and focus, and I don't hear much around me when I'm running a horse. I get tunnel vision," Cox said. "If I can, I'll go off on my own. I'm not one to watch a race live. I can't see it as well live. That's not me."
So, just as he has since he was a child, Brad Cox will once again watch the Kentucky Derby on television. Only this time, for the first time, he will not be watching someone else's horses. He'll finally be cheering on his own.
