LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brad Cox doesn’t plan on getting all emotional after what is likely to be the final start for Monomoy Girl. “At least I say I’m not going to,” Cox said with a laugh. No one could blame Cox for being overwhelmed Saturday if Monomoy Girl becomes just the fourth horse to win the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff for a second time. It has been 2 1/2 years since Monomoy Girl kick-started a remarkable span of success for her trainer, giving him a number of noteworthy victories in furthering his rise as one of the game’s young stars. “The quality of horse we’ve been able to attract since she’s been in our barn – it’s quite possible none of it would’ve happened if it hadn’t been for her,” said Cox, 40. Monomoy Girl, with Florent Geroux riding, will be favored in the 37th running of the Distaff at Keeneland, where on April 7, 2018, she became the first Grade 1 winner in Cox’s career, romping in the Ashland Stakes. Cox has now won 15 Grade 1 races, among the most in North America during that time frame. :: Play the Breeders’ Cup with DRF! Visit our Breeders’ Cup shop for Packages, PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more A chestnut 5-year-old mare by Tapizar, Monomoy Girl could clinch a second divisional Eclipse Award if she comes through Saturday for her four ownership partners – Monomoy Stables, Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group, and Bethlehem Stables. Using a devastating turn of speed after rating kindly through the early stages of her races, she has finished first in all but one of her 14 starts (and was disqualified to second in another), with the 2018 Kentucky Oaks and BC Distaff foremost among her winning efforts. Monomoy Girl was supposed to return to the races in the spring of 2019, but a serious bout with colic sidelined her. She then was scheduled to return for a 2019 fall campaign, but a pulled gluteal muscle further delayed her. Cox eased her back into training last winter at Fair Grounds before returning her to Kentucky ahead of the coronavirus shutdowns. “Her overcoming those setbacks is one of many reasons she’s been so special to us,” said Cox. “Plus it’s a real credit to the owners that they didn’t retire her. They’re sportsmen who love racing.” Her 2020 campaign has been relatively light and easy, reflected partly by the fact she was heavily favored in winning all three starts. She returned from the 18-month layoff with a May 16 allowance win at her home track, Churchill Downs, prior to taking the Ruffian in July at Belmont and the Grade 1 La Troienne on Sept. 4 at Churchill. “Everything we’ve done has been with the Breeders’ Cup in mind,” said Cox. “I really think she’s as good now as she was going into the 2018 Distaff. She’s on top of her game now, doing just fantastic.” Monomoy Girl is scheduled to be sold Sunday at Fasig-Tipton, although Cox and the ownership partners are keeping the proverbial door cracked in regard to running her one more time in the Dec. 5 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, dependent on what transpires this weekend. In the Distaff, she will be looking to emulate the previous two-time winners, Bayakoa (1989-90), Royal Delta (2011-12), and Beholder (2013, 2016). A Louisville native and lifelong resident who began training in 2004, Cox has steadily expanded his numbers since he parted ways with his only client, Midwest Thoroughbreds, in August 2012. He set a career high in 2019 with more than $17.6 million in stable earnings, and a big showing in the Breeders’ Cup could help him surge past that benchmark for 2020, even despite all the difficulties presented by the ongoing pandemic. The emergence of his stable as a national power has coincided with two of his three sons, Blake, 22, and Bryson, 19, having assumed increasingly important roles within his operation. “I’m very proud of what they do,” said Cox, whose third son, Brodie, is 5. “They’re good horsemen. They’re very well aware of what’s going on and do a fantastic job.” It’ll be a busy couple of Breeders’ Cup days for Cox. Even with his 2020 Kentucky Oaks winner, Shedaresthedevil, sidelined until next year, he will still have seven other BC starters: Abarta in the Juvenile Turf; Aunt Pearl in the Juvenile Fillies Turf; Essential Quality in the Juvenile; Owendale and Knicks Go in the Dirt Mile; Factor This in the Mile; and Arklow in the Turf. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2020: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division “They’re all coming into their races the right way,” Cox said shortly after all of his BC runners were sent through their final pre-race breezes last weekend at Churchill. “I can’t really say one has a better shot than the other.” Cox notched his second and third BC victories last year at Santa Anita when British Idiom won the Juvenile Fillies and Covfefe won the Filly and Mare Sprint. Aside from Monomoy Girl, perhaps his best chances this year are with a couple of 2-year-olds who were dominant in their final prep races last month at Keeneland – Aunt Pearl, winner of the Jessamine, and Essential Quality, winner of the Breeders’ Futurity. But it’s Monomoy Girl and her date with destiny in the Distaff that looms largest. “Just getting her to this point, I’m happy for everyone that’s been involved with her along the way,” said Cox. “It would be unbelievable, really, if she could pull this off Saturday. It’d be a testament to how great she really is.”