Cox looking to cap best Saratoga meet with juvenile Grade 1s
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Trainer Brad Cox is enjoying his best summer ever at Saratoga, and it’s not just because Leading Change won Saturday’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes.
Heading into the final week of the 45-day meet, Cox had won 21 races, a personal best for him at Saratoga. While that total puts him third in the standings – Chad Brown leads with 35 wins – Cox does lead all trainers in wins in 2-year-old races with seven. Two of those maiden winners will look to complete Cox’s sensational meet this weekend when Angel of Kirk runs in Saturday’s Grade 1 Spinaway and The Good Life starts in Sunday’s Grade 1 Hopeful.
“It’s been a big meet; you never know how it’s going to go when you start here,” Cox said Sunday. “We normally start a little slow, just based on how much we run in Kentucky at Churchill, but it’s been good. The babies have been running well. The babies that trained downstate at Belmont and the ones that have shipped in from Kentucky.
“I wouldn’t say we necessarily target this meet, but we definitely pay more attention to it,” Cox added. “With getting off to a good start, it gave us more confidence to bring more horses from Kentucky.”
In the span of a week in mid-July, Cox won maiden races with debut runners Angel of Kirk (July 11), The Good Life (July 18), and Effusive (July 18). Effusive, a daughter of the Cox-trained champion Monomoy Girl, suffered a setback and will be out of training 60 days with the hopes of a return early in 2027.
Angel of Kirk, a daughter of Yaupon, drew post 7 in an eight-horse field entered in the Spinaway at seven furlongs. She was a 4 3/4-length, pace-pressing winner of a 5 1/2-furlong maiden race.
“From the time we started breezing her, she was one we thought could be a Saratoga filly,” Cox said. “Most of the time, that doesn’t work out. In her case, it did.”
Cox had Scarlet Begonia nominated to the Spinaway. That filly, who won her debut at Ellis Park and then finished third in the Grade 3 Adirondack at Saratoga, is targeting the Pocahontas on Sept. 13 at Churchill.
The Good Life, a son of Life Is Good, won his debut here by 3 1/2 lengths beating the highly touted Powerline.
“I expected him to run well,” Cox said. “I thought it was a good maiden race, he’s a nice colt. He’s been really solid every week.”
The Good Life went back to Churchill to train and was due to ship in midweek. Q B Rocket, a son of Gun Runner who brought $1.9 million at the September yearling sale, was a 1 3/4-length winner in an Aug. 15 maiden. He could be a candidate for the Iroquois on Sept. 13 at Churchill or perhaps wait for a race in October such as the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland or Champagne at Belmont.
Though Cox has had an excellent meet, he did say Sunday that he had to stop on a couple of Grade 1-winning horses. Cox said Commandment, the Florida Derby winner, will likely be out the remainder of the year with an injury that just needs time. He is expected to return in 2027.
Good Cheer, the 2025 Kentucky Oaks winner who won her only start this year in the Iowa Distaff, also suffered a setback that knocked her out of the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. Her future will be decided by Godolphin, her owners.
“I haven’t talked to Godolphin whether she’s going to come back or not,” Cox said. “She’s 4, she’s run one time this year. We’ll have to see what they want to do.”
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