Foxiest, Yacht Master Catch Eye at Churchill Downs

This column highlights the performances of 2- and 3-year-old maidens (the latter category only through June) with the potential for graded stakes success based on criteria such as a horse that has made no more than five starts and either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, has siblings that are graded/group winners, or has dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners. Juveniles Foxiest and Yacht Master are the latest BloodHorse Maiden Watch Hot Prospects after notching maiden victories Sept. 27 at Churchill Downs on closing day of the track's September meet. Foxiest, by Gun Runner out of Champion CovFefe Foxiest was the flashiest of the half-dozen Maiden Watch qualifiers from this past week, scoring by 3 3/4 lengths under a hand ride from Luis Saez in Sunday's seventh race. Off in midpack in her second career start, she settled just behind the leaders in the 7 1/2-furlong dirt race, before bulling her way between horses at the head of the lane and kicking clear with authority. Picking up her pace after racing behind splits of :23.17 and :46.68, she completed the distance on a fast track in 1:29.78. That time earned her an 83 Equibase Speed Figure and a 70 Beyer Speed Figure. Foxiest was heavily favored, backed to 3-5 favoritism after a debut third at Saratoga Race Course last month in which she made up ground after stumbling at the break. She returned just $3.22 for a $2 win wager. Brad Cox trains the bay daughter of Gun Runner out of the Into Mischief mare Covfefe, who was honored as both the champion 3-year-old filly and female sprinter of 2019 after winning that year's Test Stakes (G1) and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), among other races. Cox also conditioned Covfefe. All three of Covfefe's foals to race are winners. One of them, Ellen Jay (Constitution), is a listed stakes winner who placed in two other stakes, including the 2025 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2). While Covfefe was at her best racing 7 furlongs or shorter, Foxiest gave the impression she may be effective in races even longer than 7 1/2 furlongs. She galloped out energetically past the wire on Sunday, opening up further distance on her outgunned rivals. Gun Runner, who stood this year for $250,000 at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, managed to win as far as 1 1/4 miles in capping his Horse of the Year campaign in 2017 with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Foxiest provided an uplifting win on a heartbreaking day for her owners, LNJ Foxwoods, co-founded by Jamie Roth with her parents, Larry and Nanci. Larry Roth died Sunday at age 75. Read: Larry Roth Dies Yacht Master Makes a Splash on Debut Yacht Master did not win with the same authority as Foxiest, but his grit was on full display in the fourth race. Shuffled back a bit in traffic on the turn of his career debut, he had a right to grow discouraged and retreat, but he kept grinding. So when jockey Tyler Gaffalione found a seam with him on the inside at the head of the stretch, the Into Mischief colt shot on through. From there it was a battle to the wire, with Yacht Master outduking second-time starter and runner-up Hazy Horizon by a head. He stalked and pounced from behind fractions of :22.24 and :45.51 en route to finishing 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:04.28. He ran an 87 Equibase Speed Figure and a 70 Beyer Speed Figure. Yacht Master paid $7.38 for a $2 win bet. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert trains the colt for owners Front Row Club, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Albaugh Family Stables, Bob Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan. Among other talented 2-year-olds, those partners also own the Baffert-trained Hughes, winner of this summer's Del Mar Futurity (G1) and the headliner for the Oct. 3 American Pharaoh Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Yacht Master qualifies as a Maiden Watch qualifier for having sold for $525,000 out of the Denali Stud consignment to the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Into Mischief has been the leading general sire the past seven years and currently second behind Not This Time in 2026 by progeny earnings. Into Mischief commanded a $250,000 fee during the 2026 breeding season at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. Yacht Master, bred by Rigney Racing, is the first foal out of the Uncle Mo mare Pathetique, whose lone win in seven starts came in a maiden special weight on grass at Saratoga in 2021. She later showed versatility by showing in a mile allowance race on dirt at Churchill Downs.