Breeders' Cup goal for Covfefe, who won 'huge battle' in Test

L N J Foxwoods' Covfefe emerged from her first career Grade 1 triumph in Saturday's $500,000 Test in good order, allowing trainer Brad Cox to set another lofty goal for his star filly.

"This has been the goal with her for a long time, since the start of the year, to get her to this point. Mission accomplished," Cox said Sunday morning. "I guess the goal now would probably be the Breeders' Cup, but how we get there I don't know.

“We don't have to figure that out for a while. We'll come up with a game plan for her. I'm very pleased with how she came out of the race."

Cox said he was impressed with Covfefe's attitude both the night and morning following her hard-fought victory over Grade 1 winner Serengeti Empress, dueling from the start of the seven-furlong sprint before establishing command in the stretch and holding sway by a half-length.

"She's doing great, really good,” Cox said. “She looked fantastic this morning. Actually, to run as fast as she did, she wasn't stressed at all after the race. She's a gifted filly. We learned a lot about her yesterday.

"There was still a little question mark going in if she was capable of getting 7/8, but with the proper trip she showed that she can do it," he added. "It was a super effort by two very nice fillies and two huge efforts. It was a huge battle. It was awesome."

Covfefe will remain at Saratoga until mid-August, when she is scheduled to return to Cox's main string at Churchill Downs.

"We'll give her an opportunity to relax and settle in here and recover,” Cox said. “I think there's a plane going back on the 13th, so that's probably when she'll go back to Churchill.

“We won't shut her down or anything, but she'll do some light training."

On Wednesday, Cox will send out Red Diamond Stable's homebred Gio d'Oro in the $100,000 Evan Shipman for New York-breds 3 and older going 1 1/8 miles. It will be the first race for the 4-year-old Gio Ponti gelding since running fifth in an open one-mile allowance February 21 at Aqueduct.

"There's not a lot of options with him right now as far as races go,” Cox said. “New York-breds, he's obviously been competitive with this group. There's been a couple times in his career where he's required breaks, but he's doing well.

He's been training extremely well. It's a big ask, a mile and an eighth off a layoff against these types of horses, but I think he'll run well."

Gio d'Oro, out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare La Java, has finished in the money in nine of 10 career starts, three of them wins.

He was second in the Gander in February 2018 in his only previous stakes attempt.

"He's been a very, very consistent horse," Cox said. "He ran pretty fast last time and just didn't come out of it the way we hoped, so we backed off of him and gave him a break and he's doing well. He's ready to go."