Brad Cox regularly states that he always thinks about the Kentucky Derby from his Barn 22 at Churchill Downs. His path to the 150th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade 1) will begin Saturday with 12-1 longshot Gettysburg Address entered in the $300,000 Iroquois Stakes (G3).
Gettysburg Address is one of the many 2-year-olds Cox has in his Churchill Downs stable. The 2-year-old son of Constitution remained in Kentucky throughout the summer and broke his maiden Aug. 6 at Ellis Park.
“He's acted like a horse who will like stretching out in distance to one-mile in the Iroquois,” Cox said. “We know he has to step up to be competitive in this race and we're confident he can do so.”
Last year, Cox began his Road to Kentucky Derby 149 in the Iroquois when Jace's Road finished third to Curly Jack. Jace's Road would go on to finish 17th in the Kentucky Derby.
Gettysburg Address will be ridden by Gerardo Corrales out of post No. 9.
Another interesting 2-year-old prospect that entered the Iroquois is MyRacehorse's Seize the Grey. Trained by four-time Kentucky Derby winner Wayne Lukas, Seize the Grey broke his maiden July 29 at Saratoga and enters the Iroquois from a third-place finish in the Aug. 18 Skidmore Stakes.
Ironically, Seize the Grey's jockey, Jaime Torres, is represented as an agent by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, who won the Kentucky Derby for Lukas aboard Winning Colors (1988) and Thunder Gulch (1995).
Torres, a new addition to the local riding colony, previously rode in New York and Pennsylvania. The five-pound apprentice was aboard Seize the Grey for his maiden score. The duo will break from post 6.
The Iroquois, carded as Race 9 on Saturday, will begin the traditional Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of 37 races where points will be offered for the top five eligible horses. The Iroquois begins the “Prep Season,” a series of 21 foundation-building races. As the calendar moves closer to Kentucky Derby 150, the points and distances of each race will increase. The top five finishers in the Iroquois will be awarded points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
Here is the Iroquois field from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds):
- Liberal Arts (Cristian Torres, Robert Medina, 20-1);
- West Saratoga (Rafael Bejarano, Larry Demeritte, 8-1);
- Union Roll (Gerardo Corrales, Todd Pletcher, 5-1);
- Edified (Ricardo Santana Jr, Asmussen, 8-1);
- Market Street (Gabe Saez, Lukas, 8-1);
- Seize the Grey (Jaime Torres, Lukas, 10-1);
- Gettysburg Address (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox, 12-1);
- Risk It (Gaffalione, Asmussen, 2-1); and
- Patriot Spirit (Jesus Castanon, Michael Campbell, 7-2).
The Iroquois is part of the Breeders' Cup “Dirt Dozen” where the top three finishers will receive a partial credit towards their entry fees in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.
The post ‘He Will Like Stretching Out’: Cox Confident In 12-1 Iroquois Longshot Gettysburg Address appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
