brad cox | Horse Racing Free Tips

Slip Mahoney Works for Gotham

Gold Square LLC's Slip Mahoney (Arrogate) tuned up for the Mar. 4 GIII Gotham S. with a four-furlong work in :48.87 (6/54) over the Belmont training track Saturday. The gray colt worked in company with unraced stablemate Global Image (Liam's Map).

“It wasn't as quick to watch it, but they moved pretty well,” said Dustin Dugas, trainer Brad Cox's Belmont-based assistant. “It was really good and he came out of it in great shape and we're all systems go. Trevor [McCarthy] was happy with him and he's going to ride him Saturday.”

Slip Mahoney will be making his fourth lifetime start and his stakes debut in the Gotham. He broke his maiden by a determined head at Aqueduct over the Gotham's one-mile distance last time out Jan. 21.

“He showed personal growth and mentally and physically, he's one that's still figuring things out,” Dugas said of his progression between starts. “He plays around a lot and still needs to mature, but right now, he's just doing it off of raw talent. He's getting there, and with each breeze, you can see him mature. He's not regressing and doing things proper.”

Cox is also expected to be represented in the Gotham by Ten Strike Racing's Eyeing Clover (Lookin At Lucky), who is unbeaten in two starts and is coming off a 9 3/4-length optional-claiming victory at Fair Grounds Jan. 28. The chestnut colt worked five furlongs at Fair Grounds in :59.80 (2/35) Saturday and is expected to ship into Belmont Park Tuesday.

The Gotham awards the top-five finishers 50-20-15-10-5 qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Derby.

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Wet Paint Provides Thrilling Finish To Honeybee

Since breaking her maiden two starts back over a sloppy track at Horseshoe Indy last fall and parlaying that into a win last time out in the Martha Washington S. over a wet-fast track at Oaklawn, Wet Paint (Blame) proved that her fondness for the off going was no fluke Saturday with a rousing win in the GIII Honeybee S.

The new leader on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks with the 50 points earned Saturday giving her a total of 70 points, the Godolphin homebred broke a beat slow from the middle of the gate and trailed the field as they passed by the wire for the first time. Paced up front by 21-1 shot Condensation (Frosted), Wet Paint stayed relaxed under an expert ride by Flavien Prat and stayed glued to the rail for the backstretch run as the opening quarter went in :23.54. Despite making up some ground past the half-mile pole, Wet Paint still found herself with only a pair of horses behind her as dueling longshots Condensation and Taxed (Collected) continued their slugfest.

Still stuck along the inside as the field swung around the far turn, the bay needed racing room and got it, tipping outside a tiring rival before ducking between horses with a sixteenth to run to finally find clear sailing. With plenty left from there, Wet Paint cruised the final yards to pick up the dominant win.

“Going into the first turn, I was little concerned. She was pretty far back and taking a lot of dirt,” said winning trainer Brad Cox. “She showed a lot of heart to be able to handle these conditions today. She showed she liked the wet track and I think as the distances get longer, she'll keep improving. The Kentucky Oaks is our goal and I think timing wise the Fantasy or the Ashland is the next logical goal.”

Pedigree Note:

Her dam's first winner, Wet Paint is from the same family as MGSW Piexlate (City Zip). She is the 21st graded-stakes winner for Claiborne Farm's Blame.

Saturday, Oaklawn Park

HONEYBEE S.-GIII, $300,000, Oaklawn, 2-25, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:45.35, sy.
1–WET PAINT, 122, f, 3, by Blame
          1st Dam: Sky Painter (GSP, $169,755), by Street Cry (Ire)
          2nd Dam: Skylighter, by Sky Mesa
          3rd Dam: Painted Lady, by Broad Brush
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox;
J-Flavien Prat. $171,600. Lifetime Record: 5-3-1-0, $334,100.
Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Condensation, 122, f, 3, Frosted–Tiz Briska, by Tiznow.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($40,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT).
O-Pravin A. Patel; B-William Humphries & Altair Farms LLC
(KY); T-Chris A. Hartman. $52,800.
3–Grand Love, 117, f, 3, Gun Runner–Grand Prayer, by Grand
Slam. O/B-Three Chimneys Farm, LLC (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $26,400.
Margins: 3, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.70, 21.70, 5.70.
Also Ran: Gambling Girl, Towhead, Defining Purpose,
Take Charge Briana, Olivia Twist, Taxed, Effortlesslyelgant,
Boss Lady Bailey, Doudoudouwanadance.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO,
sponsored by TVG.

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Saturday Insights: GISW Max Player Makes 2023 Debut At Oaklawn

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

3rd-OP, $106K, OC, 4yo/up, 1 1/16m, 2:03 p.m.

Last seen checking in fourth in last July's GII Suburban S. at Belmont, MAX PLAYER (Honor Code) makes his 6-year-old debut Saturday in an optional claimer at Oaklawn. The picture of consistency throughout his career, the Steve Asmussen trainee was a Triple Crown contender in 2020, placing third behind Tiz the Law (Constitution) in both the rescheduled GI Belmont S. and the GI Runhappy Travers S. before finishing fifth behind future Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) in the GI Kentucky Derby. He was not a factor in the 2021 G1 Saudi Cup but returned to home soil a winner two starts later in the GII Suburban S. before posting a career-best effort with a win in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup with a 102 Beyer Speed Figure. Never better than fourth in his next four starts, Max Player was benched after trying to defend his title in the Suburban.

Breaking just to his inside, Caddo River (Hard Spun) will make his first start for Hall of Famer D Wayne Lukas after three years with trainer Brad Cox. TJCIS PPS

4th-OP, $90K, Msw, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 2:34 p.m.

A Calumet Farm homebred also out of the D Wayne Lukas barn, GAME KEEPER (Honor Code) is a half-brother to G1 Emirates Airline Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 winner Capezzano (Bernardini). Dam Cableknit is herself a half to champion sprinter and leading sire Speightstown (Gone West) as well as MGSW & MGISP Irap (Tiznow). Her half-sister Amour d'Ete (Tiznow) would go on to produce GI Preakness S. winner Early Voting (Gun Runner). TJCIS PPS

3rd-FG, $50K, Msw, 3yo, 7 1/2fT, 3:15 p.m.

Out of GI La Troienne S. winner Molly Morgan (Ghostzapper), KID KETCHUM (Tapit) is a Triple Crown-nominated colt racing out of the Brad Cox barn. Bred by Stonestreet Farm and owned by a large syndicate group of which Stonestreet remains a part of, the $200,000 Keeneland September yearling picks up jockey Marcelino Pedroza, Jr. for his debut. TJCIS PPS

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Brad Cox Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast

He just won the GII Risen Star S., has a strong pair entered in Saturday's GII Rebel S. and accounts for 10 horses being offered in the latest round of the Derby Future Wager. When it comes to 3-year-old talent, Brad Cox's lineup has tremendous quality and tremendous quantity. In the spotlight virtually every Saturday that includes a prep race for the GI Kentucky Derby, Cox found the time to join the team for this week's Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to discuss his Derby prospects. Cox was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

So far as the Rebel, in which he will start Verifying (Justify) and Giant Mischief (Into Mischief), Cox is optimistic he can pick up another major win on the road to the Derby.

“I think that Verifying is a very good horse,” he said. “The last time out at Oaklawn, he showed the ability to set close to the pace. I think the fractions [in the Rebel] will be similar, maybe even quicker. I don't expect to necessarily be on the lead but somewhat forwardly placed in a good stalking position. If he runs as well as he's training, I think he's going to be right there. He's a good colt. Giant Mischief is also a very good colt. I thought he ran a winning race at Remington [in the Springboard Mile], but, obviously, just didn't get away well. He made a big middle move and then kind of flattened out. This was by design to give him a little time after that race. He had three good runs at two, three positive races. And I thought he showed in his Remington race that he could stretch out. We're looking forward to getting him started at three.”

Like most trainers with top horses and clients, winning the Derby has become a focal point for Cox, who said he's living a dream with this many good horses.

“This has been my dream for a long, long time, to get into this position, acquire good colts from top outfits, top breeders, top owners throughout the country,” he said. “These horses, you need to have a lot of them to be on this stage. That we have so many at this point just proves that we've got a really, really good program. It's a team effort and it's years and years of training young horses and being able to stop on them when they need to be stopped on and then having them ready to go in the fall of their two-year-old year or to begin their three-year-old season to try to make that push for the Kentucky Derby because it is very, very demanding.”

Officially, Cox has won the Kentucky Derby. The Cox-trained Mandaloun (Into Mischief) was awarded the win in 2021 after Medina Spirit (Protonico) was disqualified due to a medication overage. But Cox said he doesn't really feel like he's won the race and wants to win it by sending out the best horse.

“It hasn't felt like winning the Kentucky Derby,” he said. “If you're awarded the race how do you explain that to people? I have to say, 'Oh, yeah, I've won it, but my horse didn't cross the wire first.' If I met a stranger and they didn't know much about horse racing, I'd have to explain how I won the Derby. I definitely don't feel that we've won the Kentucky Derby. We know the Kentucky Derby is not the richest race run in America, but I think it is without a doubt the most prestigious. All the eyes are on racing that day with the telecast, the crowd and everything. And it's the thrill of victory, bottom line. I haven't experienced that thrill and I look forward to it someday.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and West Point Thoroughbreds, Randy Moss, Zoe Cadman and Bill Finley reviewed last week's races at the Fair Grounds, including the Risen Star and the disappointing effort by Hoosier Philly (Into Mischief) in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. Steve Asmussen's 10,000th win was also discussed with Finley predicting that Asmussen is setting records that will never be broken. To preview the G1 Saudi Cup, Cadman caught up with jockeys Mike Smith and Frankie Dettori in a new segment on the podcast, 1/ST things 1/ST at Santa Anita.

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