Covfefe brings 'amazing amount of talent' to Breeders' Cup

Top female sprinter Covfefe returned to the work tab Friday for the first time since her win Sept. 21 in the Dogwood Stakes at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief was officially clocked going four furlongs in :51.80 under the Twin Spires, though trainer Brad Cox timed the drill slightly slower.

“We were looking for between 50 and 51. She went 52,” Cox said in an interview provided by the Kentucky HBPA. “Just kind of a rider error. The guy who breezed her breezes her every week. But he was just being a little conservative. “It looked like she was galloping, a nice easy breeze,” Cox continued. “We didn’t need much this week. We have three works heading into the Breeders’ moving forward. She’ll do a little more each week.” Covfefe stamped herself a serious contender for the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Santa Anita when she outlasted Serengeti Empress by a half-length in Saratoga's Test Stakes (G1) back on Aug. 3. In the listed Dogwood, restricted to 3-year-old fillies, Covfefe motored to an easy eight-length victory. She completed seven furlongs in 1:20.51 to set a new stakes record and just miss the track record of 1:20.44 set by Groupie Doll in May 2012. “I wouldn’t trade spots with anybody,” Cox said. “She is a fantastic filly. An amazing amount of talent.” Cox also worked promising 2-year-old turf filly Jezebel’s Kitten at Churchill Downs on Friday. The daughter of Kitten’s Joy, owned by Ilium Stables LLC, is entered for Wednesday’s Jessamine Stakes (G3) at Keeneland. It is a “Win and You’re In" race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.  Jezebel's Kitten completed four furlongs in :48.60 while working in company with a stablemate. She has won her first two starts, including the listed Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 31.  “She’s a nice filly,” Cox said. “She’s small, I mean she’s a little bitty filly. She’s all racehorse. She’s got a great attitude and loves to train. Cox added a “respectable” performance in the Jessamine, not necessarily a win, will get her on the plane to California for the Breeders’ Cup. On Friday afternoon, Cox added to his Breeders' Cup lineup a Juvenile Fillies contender in British Idiom, the runaway winner of Keeneland's Alcibiades. He'll continue determining a final lineup for the championships in this weekend's preps in Lexington, Ky.