Allied Air Raid should be fitter for allowance

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brad Cox tore ‘em up all winter, winning 28 races at Fair Grounds and 23 at Oaklawn Park. Moreover, his combined return on investment for those meets was nearly $2, meaning a horseplayer almost broke even (and beat the takeout) if betting all his runners.

Back home at Churchill Downs, however, Cox hasn’t been quite as effective, winning with just four of his first 25 starters for a $0.93 ROI. That ratio got a lift Monday when Big Changes won a turf allowance at a $9.20 mutuel, but overall, his numbers at this spring meet aren’t a major reason why Cox ranked 11th among North American trainers in stable earnings ($2.56 million) when another race week got under way here Thursday evening.

Cox, a 36-year-old Louisville native, stands a solid chance to make his meet better when he sends out Allied Air Raid in the last of three straight allowances on a nine-race Friday card. Third as the favorite on Kentucky Derby Day, the 4-year-old gelding was making his first start in more than six months and stands to benefit from that needed start.

Florent Geroux will be back aboard Allied Air Raid when breaking from post 6 in a field of nine older horses in the eighth race, a $57,500, second-level allowance at a flat mile.

The preceding allowances both are first-level races with purses of $55,500. Race 6 is a wide-open turf sprint for fillies and mares, after which The Player, fresh from a highly impressive maiden victory May 14, will draw close scrutiny in race 7 at a mile.

The allowances are all part of the 20-cent Single Six, which runs from races 4 through 9. Into Thursday, the Single Six carryover stood at $471,578. The jackpot had not been swept by a solo ticket since a mandatory payout was made May 12.

First post Friday is 12:45 p.m. Eastern, with the Single Six starting at 2:13 and the race 8 feature at 4:19.

Race 8

KEY CONTENDERS

Allied Air Raid, by Midshipman
Last 3 Beyers: 86-83-88

◗ A string of nice-looking workouts was part of the reason he was so well backed in the Derby Day allowance, along with his respectable efforts in a handful of stakes in the Midwest last year, including a second in the Iowa Derby and a third in the Super Derby.

Teniente Coronel, by Colonel John
Last 3 Beyers: 91-82-94

◗ Second in the Derby Day opener behind Rocket Time, this 5-year-old gelding has changed hands several times in the last year or so while always paying his way with solid efforts.

Gotham News, by Awesome Again
Last 3 Beyers: 90-92-87

◗ Chestnut ridgling was second in the same Derby Day race in which Allied Air Raid was third and will be looking to give trainer Phil D’Amato his first winner from the string sent here from California.