Cox trio works ahead of Gotham

Trainer Brad Cox could run as many as four horses in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes and three of those horses put in workouts Friday morning at Belmont.

Bergen, winner of the Jimmy Winkfield Stakes on Jan. 27, worked a half-mile by himself in 49.65 seconds.

“He was very rateable today. He wasn’t his normal rank, just wanting to blow through the breeze,” Dustin Dugas, Cox’s New York-based assistant, said. “He had a really nice gallop-out. I was happy with that.”

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Lightline, third in the Withers, and Air Cav, third in the Winkfield, went a half-mile together in 48.85 seconds. Manny Franco was aboard Lightline.

“It was a nice little zip down the lane,” Dugas said. “They both did it very well. Lightline was moving a little nicer than Air Cav on the gallop-out.”

Cox’s fourth Gotham starter, Just a Touch, is coming off a smart-looking maiden victory at Fair Grounds Jan. 27. He is currently in training at Fair Grounds and will likely ship up here early during the week.

A large field is expected for Gotham, which awards 105 points to its top five finishers (50-25-15-10-5) toward the Kentucky Derby.

Others pointing to the race are Capital Idea, Deposition, Deterministic, El Grande O, Eliminate, Facenda, Khanate, and Maximus Meridius. Possible starters include Antonio of Venice and Speed Runner.

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