Ezmosh to return for American Derby

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Ezmosh, a comfortable winner of the Grade 3, $100,000 Arlington Classic last Saturday, is back at trainer Brad Cox’s main base at Churchill Downs, but Cox said the colt will ship back to Arlington for his next start, the American Derby on July 7.

Ezmosh, who was a close second to Preakness Stakes runner-up Bravazo in his first start this year, has won both of his turf races, a first-level Fair Grounds allowance preceding the Arlington Classic. In both starts, he earned a 77 Beyer Speed Figure, a modest number, but Cox believes the colt still has more to give.

“He’s a horse we started out around one turn asking for speed, and he’s kind of still adjusting to settling early in the race,” Cox said. “That was the only instruction we gave Jose [Valdivia] on Saturday, to try and get him to shut off going into the first turn and up the backside, and Jose did a great job. The horse is still learning, but I think he’s better on turf than dirt regardless of what figures say.”

It’s possible, Cox said, that the 4-year-old Arklow will join Ezmosh on his journey back to Arlington and start in the Arlington Handicap on the same card as the American Derby. Arklow was fourth in the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby card after finishing second in the Grade 2 Mervin Muniz Memorial at Fair Grounds, and Cox said immediate plans are still fluid for the colt.