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‘It’s Hard To Put Into Words’: Cox Grateful For Career-Boosting Champion Monomoy Girl

According to trainer Brad Cox, champion Monomoy Girl's is better this year than she was two years ago. The 2018 Eclipse Award winner returned from multiple setbacks and nearly 18 months away from the races to win this season's Grade 1 La Troienne at Churchill Downs, and she's back in next Saturday's G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff hoping for a repeat of her victory in the 2018 edition.

The 5-year-old daughter of Tapizar gave Cox his first Grade 1 win in the Ashland in April of 2018. Since then, even without Monomoy Girl in his barn for the entire 2019 season, Cox's career has skyrocketed; he has now won 15 Grade 1 races as a trainer.

“It's hard to put into words what she means to me,” Cox said on Wednesday's Breeders' Cup teleconference. “Monomoy Girl put us in a position to have an opportunity to have eight, maybe nine horses in the Breeders' Cup this year. Horses like her definitely kickstart your career and get you to a different level.”

Cox trains the potential favorites in both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Essential Quality and Aunt Pearl.

Essential Quality, a 2-year-old son of Tapit owned by Godolphin, won the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 3.

“I think the sky's the limit with this horse,” Cox said. “He's had a race over the Keeneland track, he trained there a good bit of the summer, and he's had two nice works since his last race… I'm hoping he gets a good trip and he'll be in the mix.”

Aunt Pearl, a 2-year-old daughter of Lope de Vega, set a track record in the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland last out.

“She's a very fast filly who's able to carry her speed around two turns,” said Cox. “She had a really, really nice work last Friday at Churchill.”

In the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Cox may be represented by both Owendale and Knicks Go.

A Grade 1 winner at two, the now-4-year-old Knicks Go was transferred to Cox's stable over the winter. He's won a pair of allowance races this season, first at Oaklawn in February and last out at Keeneland, setting a track record on Oct. 4.

“We're 100 percent committed with Knicks Go,” Cox said. “He had a setback and minor surgery after the race in February, and there was talk of retiring him… When he came back he trained extremely well just like last winter, and he had his three-other-than condition. We took advantage of that at Keeneland, but we didn't expect him to break the track record. Obviously he loves Keeneland. Before that race, it never crossed my mind to run him in the Breeders' Cup. But after that performance… he has early speed and with the short stretch, I think he'll be a factor.”

The trainer isn't sure whether Owendale will start in the Breeders' Cup. The 4-year-old son of Into Mischief was most recently second in the G3 Pimlico Special, and may alternatively target the G1 Clark at the end of the Churchill Downs November meet.

“Owendale worked well with Monomoy Girl last week, and I feel like he's doing well,” Cox said. “If we don't land in the Dirt Mile, we'll go in the Clark.”

Cox's other Breeders' Cup entrants are: Abarta (Juvenile Turf), Beau Recall (Mile), Factor This (Mile), and Arklow (Turf).

In terms of Monomoy Girl, the mare has been entered in the Nov. 8 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Cox left the door open, however, when asked if she might return to race again in 2021.

“A lot of Monomoy Girl's future depends on her performance on Breeders' Cup day,” Cox said. “It was a long road, we had a couple of setbacks in '19, and took a lot from our staff and for everybody involved with her to get her back to compete and to win a Grade 1. We feel like she's better this year than she was in '18.”

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Monomoy Girl, Swiss Skydiver, Tom’s D’Etat Breeze At Churchill Downs

Saturday's work tab at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., was filled with star power with many of the nation's top contenders logging their penultimate workouts before the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland. Among the stars to work Saturday included champion Monomoy Girl (six furlongs, 1:12), Preakness (GI) winner Swiss Skydiver (four furlongs, :47.80) and Grade I winner Tom's d'Etat (six furlongs, 1:12.80).

On Saturday, trainer Brad Cox's barn worked five of their nine probable runners in this year's Breeders' Cup. Most notably taking to the track was superstar mare Monomoy Girl. The likely favorite in the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (GI) worked with her regular pilot Florent Geroux aboard and started about one length behind stablemate Owendale. Owned by Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables, Monomoy Girl swiftly worked through eighth-mile splits of :12, :24.40, :36.20, :47.80 and 1:00. Monomoy Girl galloped out in front of Owendale through seven furlongs in 1:26.40, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Owendale completed his six-furlong move one second slower than Monomoy Girl in 1:13.

“Anyone you put with Monomoy, she seems to always out-work them,” Geroux said. “She's worked with a lot of really good horses in the past and Owendale is a really good horse. She just always gets the better of them.”

“There's not much really to say about her other than she's just really, really, really good right now,” Cox added. “We'll see what the future holds for her but as a 5-year-old she's showing how mature she's become.”

Cox's morning started at 5:30 a.m. when Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and Peter Coneway's $2.4 million earner Arklow worked outside of stablemate Plainsman through splits of :12.60, :24.80 and :47.80. Plainsman completed five furlongs in :59.80. Arklow, who was ridden by Geroux, continued to gallop out around the clubhouse turn in front with a six-furlong gallop out in 1:11.80. The $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf (GI) will mark Arklow's 30th career start but only the second with the addition of blinkers.

“I wish I would've added the blinkers in start 19 instead of 29,” Cox joked. “He's really turned the corner since we put them on for the Kentucky Turf Cup Classic (G3) last out. This year has been interesting with this horse. He ran a good race in June (in the $100,000 Louisville) and we ran him back in the Elkhorn where he didn't run bad but I had the not-so-great idea of sticking him on a plane and running six days later at Monmouth (in the G1, $315,000 United Nations). After he finished fourth that day, I said we have to make a change and add blinkers. It really worked out in the Kentucky Turf Cup, which in and of itself turned out to be a really interesting race when there was a torrential downpour before the running of the race.”

Immediately following Arklow's move, Cox worked Korea Racing Authority's four-time winner Knicks Go, who recently cruised to a 10 1/4-length score at Keeneland in a conditioned allowance event. The gray son of Paynter worked solo through early fractions of :24.40 and :48 with a six-furlong gallop out of 1:12.80.

“This horse has really come around,” Cox said. “I hope we can get into the Dirt Mile because I think he will really like two-turns and have a pace advantage with his stamina.”

Also in the first set of Cox horses was Slam Dunk Racing and Medallion Racing's recent $350,000 First Lady (GI) runner-up Beau Recall (IRE), who is likely to face the males in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (GI). She worked by herself through fractions of :13.20 and :25.60 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:03.80.

In Cox's next set he worked Gaining Ground Racing's 12-time winner Factor This, who easily breezed through splits of :13, :25.40 and :49.20. The recent winner of the $250,000 Dinner Party (GII) worked outside of stablemate Gold Standard.

The fastest recorded five-furlong move of the morning came from Allied Racing Stable's $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (GI) contender By My Standards when he whipped through fractions of :12, :23.40 and :34.80 with jockey Gabriel Saez aboard. The duo galloped out six furlongs in 1:11 and completed seven furlongs in 1:24.80.

“Last week was the first work we did a little bit something serious with him (since he won the Alysheba),” Calhoun said. “He was full of energy and bounced around great after it. It's been a different year for sure losing a few races here or there. We were fortunate to have (the Alysheba) on the undercard of the rescheduled Derby. We probably could've shipped somewhere around the country but our goal was how to get him to the Breeders' Cup Classic. We decided to stay here run in the Alysheba and point to the Breeders' Cup from there.

“Some really good horses look like they're coming together (for the Classic) and horses that have beaten us. Tom's d'Etat beat us (at Churchill in the Stephen Foster). I have a ton of respect for him. Maximum Security hasn't done anything wrong in his career. It's a top group of horses that we'll have to turn the tables on them. … I think By My Standards has been very consistent this year and has gotten better as the months have gone on.”

The aforementioned Tom's d'Etat, who has been off since his troubled third-place effort in the $750,000 Whitney (GI) in early August, continued his serious preparation for the Classic with a solid six-furlong move under jockey Miguel Mena. The duo worked with stablemate Oak Hill. Tom's d'Etat, owned by G M B Racing, worked through splits of :12.20, :23.80, :47.20 and 1:00. Oak Hill completed five furlongs in 1:01.

“The schedule with the pandemic got a little awkward with everyone,” Stall said. “The races didn't quite work out in the calendar quite right for him. My gut feeling said to go into the Classic fresh anyway and when the last round of stakes races came out I didn't like the way they were placed so we stuck with the plan to train up to the race.”

Just before Tom's d'Etat worked, a trio of horses from the Kenny McPeek barn worked solo for the Breeders' Cup. Among them was recent $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI) heroine Swiss Skydiver. With Robby Albarado in the saddle, the classy 3-year-old filly breezed through fractions of :12.40 and :24.40.

“She was pulling today and feeling really good with the cool weather,” Albarado said. “No complaints, she feels amazing. … I'm going to gallop her the last five days before the race as I did at Pimlico. We're going to see how she's doing and make a decision (about the Classic or Distaff) from there.”

Robby Albarado on Swiss Skydiver: “She feels amazing.”

McPeek also worked $1 million Juvenile Fillies (GI) probables Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful. The one-two finishers, respectively, in the $350,000 Alcibiades (GI) had eerily similar workouts. Crazy Beautiful worked through fractions of :12.20 and :24.20, while Simply Ravishing went :12.20 and :24.40.

The Saturday morning action completed around 9:20 a.m. with CJ Thoroughbreds, Left Turn Racing and Casner Racing's $500,000 Derby City Distaff (GI) third-place runner Sally's Curlin who breezed through opening splits of :12.40, :24, :36.40 and :48.40. She galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.40.

Starting on Friday at Churchill Downs, there will be a special training period for Breeders' Cup contenders from 7:30-7:45 a.m. The special training session is scheduled to run through Wednesday, Nov. 4.

The full list of Breeders' Cup contenders that worked Saturday morning at Churchill Downs included the following horses:

Horse	Trainer	Distance, Time	Breeders' Cup Race
Arklow	Brad Cox	Five Furlongs, :59.60	Turf
Beau Recall	Brad Cox	Five Furlongs, :50.60	Mile
By My Standards	Bret Calhoun	Five Furlongs, :58.60	Classic
Crazy Beautiful	Kenny McPeek	Four Furlongs, :48	Juvenile Fillies
Factor This	Brad Cox	Five Furlongs, 1:02	Mile
Global Campaign	Stan Hough	Four Furlongs, :48	Classic
Knicks Go	Brad Cox	Five Furlongs, 1:00.20	Dirt Mile
Monomoy Girl	Brad Cox	Six Furlongs, 1:12	Distaff
Sally's Curlin	Dale Romans	Five Furlongs, 1:01.40	Filly & Mare Sprint
Simply Ravishing	Kenny McPeek	Four Furlongs, :48	Juvenile Fillies
Spanish Loveaffair	Mark Casse	Five Furlongs, 1:04.20	Juvenile Fillies Turf
Swiss Skydiver	Kenny McPeek	Four Furlongs, :47.80	Distaff/Classic
Tom's d'Etat	Al Stall Jr.	Six Furlongs, 1:12.80	Classic

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Sabrina Moore Plants Budding Operation in Maryland

For up-and-coming horsewoman Sabrina Moore, co-owner and operator of GreenMount Farm in Glyndon, Maryland, two of her greatest accomplishments revolve around Maryland breeding and racing.

Last year Knicks Go (Paynter), a colt she co-bred with her mother Angie Moore, was named Maryland-bred Horse of the Year after winning the 2018 edition of the GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and running second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile behind Eclipse Award winner Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}).

“When Knicks Go got Horse of the Year for the Maryland-bred awards, that was really special to me,” Moore recalled. “I’m a little biased, but I love Maryland. I love all the history. To know his name is always going to be there was really cool. We claimed his dam off the track and she was very near and dear to my heart. I thought once in my lifetime I might get a graded stakes horse when I was 50 or something, but for it to happen so soon and out of a mare that was so special to me, it was really surreal.”

This summer, a Bernardini yearling that GreenMount Farm co-bred was named Champion at the annual Maryland Horse Breeders Association’s Yearling Show.

“I’ve been attending the yearling show for years, so to come out on top was something that was so special to me,” Moore said. “The filly had a rough start. Her mom actually had colic surgery when she was by her side. I typically sell as weanlings, but I held onto her because I didn’t feel like she was at her full potential, and I’m really glad I kept her.”

The filly out of stakes winner Mystic Love (Not For Love) went on to bring $100,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, selling to Frank Brothers as agent for StarLadies and Mathis.

Moore’s interest in the industry was piqued early in her childhood when her family moved to Glyndon, Maryland- a community less than 20 miles from Pimlico Race Course.

“As a kid, I loved horses,” Moore said. “My mom went to the Preakness every year and that’s kind of what got the ball rolling. I loved watching the Preakness. I wanted to work with horses, but I didn’t know how. Little did I know how involved everything was to get into it.”

After graduating high school, Moore took a job at a breaking farm, and then worked a stint at the track.

At the same time, her mother was involved in several broodmare partnerships. Eventually, the mother-daughter duo decided to go out on their own.

“We picked up a free broodmare, which was probably the most expensive thing we ever invested in,” Moore said with a laugh.

As their small broodmare band grew, Moore’s local veterinarian encouraged her to foal out the mares herself at their family’s GreenMount Farm.

“She taught me everything,” Moore recalled. “At first it was just our own horses, but there was a need in the neighborhood to outsource and I started picking up clients.”

Now just a few years later, Moore foals out up to 30 mares a year, but she’s discovered her real niche in working with yearlings.

“When I first started, I would take babies out of fields and just start handling them,” Moore said. “It was so rewarding to take these horses that were not so thrifty and sometimes badly behaved, and turn them into professional animals that could do their jobs.”

Moore grew increasingly fascinated with the sales aspect of the business, so she started working with agent and consignor Bill Reightler.

She recalled her first time attending the Keeneland November Sale, “When I got there, my jaw dropped. I was so impressed with the quality of horses. I wanted every bit of it. So I made a five-year plan and I told Mr. Bill, ‘Eventually I want to consign on my own.'”

After working with Reightler for the appointed five years, she took the plunge.

“It was really scary to go out on my own and try to find my own clients,” Moore admitted. “You have to get confident really quickly and be bold. It took a lot of courage, it was a lot of learning and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.”

The GreenMount Farm banner was first on display at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale in 2017 and has been a fixture at the auction since.

“I love Timonium,” Moore said of taking her consignment to the annual Midlantic yearling sale. “Primarily I have Maryland-breds, so selling them here makes more sense. I try to bring nice horses so they stick out more as bigger fish in a smaller pond, as I like to say. But it’s getting tough over the years. There’s some really nice horses here and people are picking up on it. I don’t feel like it’s a disadvantage here instead of going to Kentucky because for a regional market, it’s fantastic. I think if you have the right horse that fits the sale, you’ll sell just fine here.”

In just a few days, Moore’s self-run consignment will have its largest group at the fall auction to date with 10 yearlings cataloged under the GreenMount Farm banner for the two-day sale starting on October 5.

“This year, I feel like I have a really nice, diverse group going in,” Moore said. “I have some higher-end horses and some regional horses that may not have the fanciest pedigrees, but are useful, correct horses that anybody will be able to benefit from.”

Of the current market going into the auction, Moore said, “I was expecting it to be a lot worse, and I think the sales companies have done a really good job in getting horses sold. I’m pretty optimistic. I think everyone is still going to be showing up with their checkbooks.”

Moore has been dipping her toes in the pinhooking game for several years, but she has hopes that one yearling in this upcoming sale could be her breakout find.

Yearling Klimt colt out of Cabo Time | Sara Gordon

At last year’s Keeneland November Sale, the first crop of weanlings by Klimt (Quality Road) stuck out to her.

“I didn’t go down specifically looking for them, but I just kept seeing them in the book. They were so nice physically, but they were selling well and I thought, ‘Man, I should probably move on.'”

When she saw the last Klimt weanling on her short list go through the ring, a colt out of the stakes-placed mare Cabo Time (Grand Slam), she couldn’t leave him behind and purchased the youngster for $36,000.

“After I saw him, I wasn’t really high on anything else. So I went over my budget a little bit,” she admitted. “I hope it will pay off. He’s matured into a really nice horse and I think he’ll suit anybody. He’s really attractive, correct and athletic. I’m hoping he’ll turn some heads.”

Catalogued as Hip 484 for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale, the colt will go through the ring during the second session of the auction.

Moore said she hopes that this sale will serve as a gateway to continue to build her consignment and grow her pinhooking program. While she plans to take her consignment to Lexington someday, her home base will continue to be in Maryland.

“I think when you have a Maryland-bred, it’s a pretty lucrative deal. Our breeder incentives are really nice, and Fasig-Tipton [Timonium] is right up the street. We have a lot of really talented trainers and year-round racing. We have some really nice local stallions for people that want to breed regionally. In the long run, [the Maryland program] helps the breeder out a lot. I think you’re well off here.”

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