Outside draw 'perfect' for Covfefe in Churchill's Dogwood Stakes

The last time LNJ Foxwoods’ Covfefe competed at Churchill Downs, she was on the inside of a very contentious pace battle with Mia Mischief in the $120,000 Roxelana. Now, the speedy Grade I-winning filly will find herself on the outside of a compact field of 3-year-olds and her jockey Shaun Bridgmohan and trainer Brad Cox could not be more pleased about the draw.

“We know she has all the talent in the world but it’ll be a lot easier this time that she’s not battling from the rail,” Bridgmohan said.

In Wednesday’s post-position draw for the Dogwood, the final two positions drawn were posts 1 and 6. Pill 1 was pulled for Bell’s the One while Covfefe drew post 6.

“We saw in the Test she doesn’t have to be on the lead,” Cox said. “She’s naturally fast and if the speed goes from the inside, Shaun could see how it develops from the outside.”

One of the likely pacesetters with Covfefe in the race could be Sheffer Racing’s allowance winner Take Charge Angel, who battled on the lead in a first-level allowance race in June at Churchill Downs to win by three-quarters of a length. The daughter of Will Take Charge has a Brisnet Pace Rating of E 6 and average early pace rating of a 94, which is five points behind Covfefe.

Cox is a scheduled guest on “Inside Churchill Downs” Friday at 6:15 p.m. (all times Eastern) to discuss Covfefe along with the numerous stakes contenders in his barn. The one-hour program will air from 6-7 p.m. on ESPN 680/105.7 and online at www.espnlouisville.com.

The field for the Dogwood in order of post position (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Bell’s the One (Corey Lanerie, Neil Pessin, 8-1); Take Charge Angel (Brian Hernandez Jr., Ben Colebrook, 9-2); Free Cover (Robby Albarado, Bret Calhoun, 12-1); Istan Council (Chantal Sutherland, Larry Jones, 10-1); Champagne Anyone (Chris Landeros, Ian Wilkes, 4-1); and Covfefe (Shaun Bridgmohan, Brad Cox.).

The Dogwood is carded as Race 10 with a post time of 5:26 p.m. First post will get underway at 12:45 p.m.