Cox works two fillies for Kentucky Oaks
Shortly before trainer Brad Cox sent his 2018 Kentucky Oaks winner and divisional champion Monomoy Girl out for a breeze on Friday morning, he sent out the two fillies who will be attempting to follow in her footsteps, as his Kentucky Oaks duo of Bonny South and Shedaresthedevil turned in their final works ahead of next Friday’s filly classic.
In the training window reserved for Oaks and Derby candidates, Fair Grounds Oaks winner Bonny South, under Shaun Bridgmohan, went four furlongs in 48.20 seconds, galloping out five furlongs in 1:01.40, according to Churchill Downs clockers. She worked inside of Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense, who had Florent Geroux in the irons. Cox said the filly “actually did a bit more” than he was looking for, as she is coming back less than three weeks after finishing second to Swiss Skydiver in the Alabama on Aug. 15.
Working solo under exercise rider Edvin Vargas, Shedaresthedevil went five furlongs from the half-mile pole in 1:01.40. The filly, winner of the Honeybee and Indiana Oaks this year, was coming off a bullet six-furlong work last week at Churchill.
“She’s a very, very good work horse,” Cox said. “Never needs company to get what we need out of her.”
So good a work horse, in fact, is Shedaresthedevil that a few weeks ago, Cox did decide she could keep up with a championship-caliber stablemate.
“We actually breezed Shedaresthedevil a few weeks ago with Monomoy Girl,” Cox said. “It worked out well. Monomoy Girl was maybe a touch better in the lane in the work, but we’ve not really ever had one that can keep up with her in the mornings.”
Also working on Friday morning for the Oaks were Ashland winner Speech, who went a half in 47.60 in a move that trainer Michael McCarthy described as “textbook”; and Tempers Rising, who zipped the half in 47 in company. Swiss Skydiver galloped ahead of a planned Saturday work.
The showdown between Swiss Skydiver and Gamine, both multiple graded stakes winners this year, and both Grade 1 winners at Saratoga this month, was expected to headline the Oaks, which had 10 fillies under consideration as of Friday morning. In alphabetical order, they are Bayerness, Bonny South, Donna Veloce, Dream Marie, Gamine, Project Whiskey, Shedaresthedevil, Speech, Swiss Skydiver, and Tempers Rising.