Barn Tour: Cox has plans for Angel of Empire, other standouts
Henderson, Ky.
Brad Cox is having one of those years again. Maybe not with the classic victories that he had in 2021. But four Grade 1 triumphs came his way in the first half of 2023, and he is aiming for more this summer.
In a stable full of stars, Angel of Empire might be the name that comes to mind right away, what with his prominence on the Kentucky Derby trail. He is headed for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes next month at Saratoga, but Cox also is mulling which race might come in between.
Right after his 3-year-old gelding Wadsworth won Saturday’s American Derby, and after West Will Power scored in the Stephen Foster (G1) at Ellis Park, Cox took time to offer updates on 12 of his standouts in a Horse Racing Nation Barn Tour.
Angel of Empire. After finishing third in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes, the Arkansas Derby (G1) winner could end up in the Haskell (G1), Jim Dandy (G2) or some other race this month. “Something like that,” Cox said. “I don’t know where he’s going yet. He breezed (Friday), and he’s doing great.” In his first timed workout since June 3, the 3-year-old Classic Empire colt owned by the Albaugh family was clocked at 49.4 seconds going a half-mile at Churchill Downs.
West Will Power. The Breeders’ Cup Classic figures to be the year-end goal for the 5-year-old Bernardini horse who qualified for the $6 million race at Santa Anita by winning the Stephen Foster. The immediate plan is for another Grade 1, 1 1/8-mile race. “Saratoga would be obvious,” Cox said. “The Whitney would be a prestigious race. I’m hopeful he can be competitive then. ... The Whitney would be something we’ll look at.” Owned by Gary and Mary West, West Will Power is 17: 7-7-1 with earnings of $1,745,390.
Caravel. Her win in the Jaipur (G1) last month on the Belmont Stakes undercard was her fifth in a row. “Maybe we’re looking at something this summer at Saratoga,” Cox said. “Just not sure which race. It’ll be a turf sprint, and there are only so many that they’ve got.” The Caress (G3), in which Caravel was both the 2021 winner and the troubled last-place finisher in 2022, is one possibility. Owned by partners led by Qatar Racing, the 6-year-old Mizzen Mast mare has earned $1,897,577 in purse money, with the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last year being her signature victory.
Matareya. After finishing third as the odds-on favorite June 24 in the Chicago Stakes (G3) at Ellis Park, the 4-year-old Pioneerof the Nile filly is trying to regain the form she enjoyed when she won the 2022 Acorn (G1) and the 2023 Derby City Distaff (G1). “Obviously we were disappointed with her result here,” Cox said. “I think it had a little bit to do with the track being very speed-biased and being hung three wide.” The next stop for the Godolphin homebred is Saratoga, perhaps on the Travers undercard. “Really, one of the few spots she’d be eligible for would be the Ballerina (G1). We’ll see how it comes up and go from there.”
Idiomatic. Saturday’s 1 3/16-mile Delaware Handicap will be the next stop for the Juddmonte homebred who won the 1 1/16-mile Shawnee (G3), her first graded-stakes triumph. “It seems like two turns suits her better,” Cox said after that victory last month at Churchill Downs. “We always had in mind running her in the Delaware Handicap.” The 4-year-old daughter of Curlin is 8: 5-1-2 with a previous stakes win on Turfway Park’s Tapeta track in the black-type Latonia in March.
Warrant. A three-time stakes winner who finished fourth as the 5-2 favorite last month in the Brooklyn (G2), the 5-year-old Constitution horse owned by Randy Gullatt and Steve Davison races Saturday. The question is whether it will be at Delaware Park or Prairie Meadows. “I entered him in two spots,” Cox said. “In the Battery Park at Delaware and the Cornhusker (Handicap, G3). We’ll talk it over with Randy Gullatt and decide where we’re going to run.”
Hit Show. The 3-year-old Candy Ride colt who finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont may start down the same summer road as his stablemate. “It’ll be kind of the same thing as Angel of Empire in regard to where he’ll land,” Cox said. “Probably the Jim Dandy or West Virginia Derby (G3). I wouldn’t completely rule out the Haskell. We’ll nominate him, but that probably wouldn’t be where we’ll land with him.” The Withers (G3) winner owned by Gary and Mary West had a busy spring, finishing second in the Wood Memorial (G2) before racing in two classics.
First Mission. The lightly raced winner of the Lexington (G3) has been recovering from a left-hind ankle injury that took him out of the Preakness. “He’s doing well, and he’s getting close to coming back in,” Cox said. “About 60 days was what they recommended. We’ll just be getting him back, so there’s nothing in regard to races.” Since his February debut, the 3-year-old Street Sense colt bred and owned by Godolphin is 3: 2-1-0.
Wet Paint. The 3-year-old Blame filly bred and owned by Godolphin was favored in her last four races, winning two of them. Then she finished fourth in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and second at Ellis Park in the Monomoy Girl Overnight Stakes two weeks ago. Wet Paint’s next stop is Saratoga in less than three weeks for the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1). And after that? “A race at a time,” Cox said. In her first workout since her last start, Wet Paint breezed Saturday at Churchill Downs, going a half-mile in 48.2 seconds.
Key of Life. Wins in the Purple Martin at Oaklawn and in the Beaumont (G2) at Keeneland bolstered confidence this spring in the 3-year-old Mo Town filly owned by Staton Flurry and the Hoffman family. Then came a humbling, fifth-place effort as the odds-on favorite in a Grade 3 race in May at Pimlico. “She’s been on the farm since the Miss Preakness,” Cox said. “She had a long winter and spring and never had a break, so we decided to give her a break. We’ll get her back at some point this summer. Hopefully, in the fall, she’ll be ready.”
Wadsworth. After saying “I have no clue” about the next race, Cox conceded that a September date in the turf meet at Kentucky Downs could be in the future for the son of Quality Road. That was even after the 1/16-mile American Derby victory took away some of the conditions under which Wadsworth could have qualified. “I’m sure there’s something else down there,” Cox said. “There’s a lot of opportunities.” They could include the $750,000 Gun Runner Stakes at one mile or the $750,000 Dueling Grounds Derby (G3) going 1 5/16 miles.
There is one more horse to bring the list to 12. Cox talked about him with Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association spokesperson Jennie Rees on Sunday.
Zozos. Racing for the first time on an off track, the 4-year-old Munnings colt bred and owned by Barry and Joni Butzow won the one-mile Hanshin Stakes for his third straight victory, all since cutting back from 1 1/16 miles. Cox suggested an even shorter distance for Zozos this summer. “We may look at something at Saratoga with him going seven-eights,” he said. “Anything moving forward will be one turn or less. Anywhere between seven-eighths and a one-turn mile.” If that means keeping stakes company, Cox stopped short of saying it could be the Forego (G1), the Aug. 26 race at Saratoga that checks all the boxes.