brad cox | Horse Racing Free Tips

Always Dreaming Colt Sparkles In Debut At Keeneland

6th-Keeneland, $96,906, Msw, 4-16, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.01, ft, 4 3/4 lengths.
SAUDI CROWN (c, 3, Always Dreaming–New Narration, by Tapit), let go at 5-1, chased pacesetting favorite Briterdayzahead (Girvin) while four wide through an opening quarter in :22.29. Some two lengths back following a half in :45.25, the gray colt reeled in the pacesetter with a furlong to run and strode clear with authority to win by 4 3/4 lengths. Wild Thinker (Lord Nelson) chased him home in second, while Briterdayzahead was third. Salde Callaghan purchased Saudi Crown for $45,000 at the 2021 Keeneland January sale and Pedro Lanz, bidding for Faisal Mohammed Alqahtani, acquired him for $240,000 following a :10 flat work at last year's OBS Spril sale. The unraced New Narration sold in foal to Yoshida (Jpn) for $17,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. She produced a filly last year and was bred back to King for a Day. The winner's second dam is graded winner New Normal (Forestry) and third dam is multiple graded-winner New Economy (Red Ransom). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $58,125.
O-FMQ Stables, Inc.; B-Chc Inc. (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.

#8 Saudi Crown found another gear in R6 at Keeneland under @flothejock and breaks his maiden first time out!

Trained by @bradcoxracing, the Always Dreaming colt went off at 5/1 to kick off the Late Pick-4. #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/ZmX2dsLyWI

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) April 16, 2023

The post Always Dreaming Colt Sparkles In Debut At Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Key of Life Favored in Beaumont

Flurry Racing Stables and Hoffman Family Racing's Key of Life (Mo Town) is the even-money favorite on the morning line for Sunday's GII Beaumont S. at Keeneland, the lone graded offering of the day in the U.S. The bay filly, who faces six rivals in the seven-furlong event for 3-year-old fillies, comes off a front-running tally in the Mar. 25 Purple Mountain S.

While she will be trying seven furlongs for the first time in her career, the Brad Cox trainee already owns a pair of victories over the Keeneland surface. She romped by 6 1/4 lengths in a optional claimer last October before adding a 6 3/4-length victory in the Oct. 28 Myrtlewood S. Both of those efforts were at six furlongs.

Cox, who won the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. with First Mission (Street Sense) on Saturday's card at Keeneland, will be looking for his second straight win in the Beaumont, following Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile)'s victory a year ago.

The post Key of Life Favored in Beaumont appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘TDN Rising Star’ First Mission Wins Lexington

Godolphin homebred First Mission, coming off an impressive maiden-breaking score at Fair Grounds last month, made the jump to graded company with aplomb, striding home a determined victor of the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off at 2-1, the dark bay colt sat just off pacesetting Arabian Lion through fractions of :24.12 and :48.01. He cut the corner into the stretch as the pacesetter drifted out into the lane and gamely persevered as that foe drifted back in on him and he was inching clear late.

“This was a tough Lexington S.,” said Godolphin director of bloodstock Michael Banahan. “There were some nice horses in there. So we were very hopeful and confident that if he showed the talent that we thought he had, we had a big, big chance. It's exceptionally nice to see that happen, and especially the experience he needed to get, coming down [the stretch] in tight on the rail. For an inexperienced horse, I think that will hold well for the future with us.”

A debut second behind well-regarded stablemate Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) while sprinting six furlongs at Fair Grounds Feb. 18, First Mission romped home by 6 3/4 lengths in a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy performance when stretched to 1 1/16 miles in New Orleans last time out Mar. 18.

“[Trainer] Brad [Cox] just got this guy in after Christmas time and had never seen him before, so he wasn't sure where we were going to stable him for the winter time,” Banahan said. “He saw him work one time up at Churchill and he said, 'This horse is going down to Fair Grounds,' where he put all his good horses.

“We've always held him in high regard. He had a few juvenile issues last year, but we were very high on him. He ran a tremendous race first time out, when Brad's other horse beat him going six furlongs, knowing he wanted to stretch out. He won very easily last time.”

Asked if First Mission may make his next start in the GI Preakness S. in five weeks' time, Banahan said, “I think it will be ideal, really. When he ran in his maiden race, we thought, 'OK, let's come back a little quicker in the maiden, a little bit quicker back in here' from what Brad would normally do, to see if he had enough talent to do that. I think he answered a lot of questions today, so we'd certainly look hard at that. I think we have a nice horse for down the road even if he doesn't make one of the Classics.”

With his third-place finish, Winchell Thoroughbreds' Disarm earned enough points to qualify for a spot in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“It looks like he got enough points to go, so we have the option to go,” Ron Winchell said. “We'll see how he comes out of this race. We've always thought a mile and a quarter [of the Derby] would be fine for him.”

Pedigree Notes:

First Mission is the 39th worldwide graded winner for his sire, Street Sense. His dam Etude produced a full-brother last year and was bred back to Protonico. His second dam is Argentinian champion Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar).

Saturday, Keeneland
STONESTREET LEXINGTON S.-GIII, $398,750, Keeneland, 4-15, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.74, ft.
1–FIRST MISSION, 118, c, 3, by Street Sense
                1st Dam: Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro
                2nd Dam: Forty Marchanta (Arg), by Roar
                3rd Dam: Marcha Toss (Arg), by Egg Toss
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis
Saez. $232,500. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $276,500.
Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Arabian Lion, 118, c, 3, Justify–Unbound, by Distorted
Humor. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($600,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR). O-Zedan Racing
Stables, Inc.; B-Bonne Chance Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert.
$75,000.
3–Disarm, 118, c, 3, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit.
'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $37,500.
Margins: HF, 4 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 2.19, 3.89, 3.46.
Also Ran: Denington, Demolition Duke, Prairie Hawk, Empirestrikesfast, Baseline Beater, Reinvest, Curly Larry and Mo. Scratched: Transect.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post ‘TDN Rising Star’ First Mission Wins Lexington appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Easy Works for Cox’s Derby Contenders

Two of trainer Brad Cox's four GI Kentucky Derby contenders turned in half-mile works at Churchill Downs Saturday, with GI Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby third-place finisher Jace's Road (Quality Road) both credited with working, hours apart, in :48.20 (20/99).

Albaugh Family Stables' Angel of Empire worked alongside stablemate Tapit's Conquest (Tapit), who was most recently seventh in the Louisiana Derby, just as the track opened at 5:30 a.m. Sporting blinkers while working outside his stablemate through early fractions of :12.40 and :24.40, Angel of Empire galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.80, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Cox's exercise rider Edvin Vargas was aboard for the move.

Two hours later, Vargas was again in the irons when West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables' Jace's Road worked in company with Smarty Jones S. winner Victory Formation (Tapwrit).

“It was a solid morning with three weeks out from the Derby,” Cox said. “It's always an exciting time of year and we'll see what happens in 21 days.”

Following Jace's Road's work, Cox's other Derby contenders, GI Toyota Blue Grass S. runner-up Verifying (Justify) and GII Wood Memorial runner-up Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), galloped about 1 1/2 miles. Both are scheduled to work next Saturday.

The post Easy Works for Cox’s Derby Contenders appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post