Brad Cox had 919 starters in 2024, seventh-most among North American trainers. In the summer, Cox runs strings at Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, Keeneland, and in New York. Since 2013, he’s also stabled in Indiana, and while many horses there occupy the lower strata of his operation, Horseshoe Indianapolis starters don’t necessarily play for Cox’s “C” Team. Monomoy Girl’s winning debut in September 2017 came in Indiana. She went on to win two Eclipse Awards. In her second start, Monomoy Girl captured a Churchill allowance race, then won the Rags to Riches and finished second in the Grade 2 Golden Rod. Seven years later, Good Cheer looks like a carbon copy of Monomoy Girl. The Godolphin homebred won her debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis, prevailed in a first-level Churchill allowance, and won the Rags to Riches. She then went one better than Monomoy Girl, capturing the Golden Rod. Like Monomoy Girl, Good Cheer begins her 3-year-old campaign in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds this Saturday. Monomoy Girl put in a strong, sustained run to win the Rachel Alexandra at 4-5 odds, and Good Cheer should be heavily favored in this Grade 2, $300,000 contest. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Her price drops because Ballerina d’Oro, who’d have been no worse than third choice, didn’t ship from Florida after running a fever, trainer Chad Brown said. Good Cheer did ship from Florida, where Cox has a large string at Payson Park. Good Cheer bedded down there not long after the relatively easy Golden Rod, which she won by more than two lengths while ridden out by regular rider Luis Saez. “She was pretty good last year,” said Cox. “She’s been training really, really good.” Like Monomoy Girl, Good Cheer, by Medaglia d’Oro, lacks sprinter’s speed and debuted in a route. “I liked her first out. Did I think she’d be a graded stakes filly? I’m not going to say that,” Cox said. “She’s all class, incredibly smart.” Good Cheer, a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro and the Grade 1-winning dam Wedding, races from off the lead but does not grind her way forward, accelerating sharply on the far turn and attacking in upper stretch. She’s held a stretch-call lead in all her races. Good Cheer might take longer to hit the front Saturday, if she hits it at all. Cox concedes Good Cheer has bested modest opposition, and Simply Joking probably represents her sternest test. Simply Joking hasn’t met a horse anywhere close to as good as Good Cheer, either, but she holds a potential tactical advantage as the controlling speed in the Rachel Alexandra, contested over 1 1/16 miles. And Simply Joking might be as talented as Good Cheer. Whit Beckman, who trains the Practical Joke filly for a partnership, saw her talent from the start. Simply Joking impressed Beckman as soon as she came to the racetrack, and he thought enough of her to debut the filly Dec. 21 in the $100,000 Letellier Stakes over six furlongs, which Simply Joking won despite challenging circumstances. Beckman wasted no time trying two turns, and Simply Joking, setting a solid pace over a slow-playing sloppy track, prevailed by 2 1/2 lengths on Jan. 18 in the Silverbulletday, earning an 87 Beyer Speed Figure. Simply Joking and jockey Jaime Torres looked in mid-stretch like they might win by a wider margin, but in the final half-furlong, Simply Joking switched leads and took a mildly serpentine path to the wire. Was she tired? Not according to Torres and Beckman, who believe Simply Joking merely got lost running by herself for so long in just the second start of her career. Bless the Broken, another Rachel Alexandra runner, gained ground in the last furlong, but Simply Joking pricked her ears and opened up again past the wire. “She came out of the Silverbulletday in fantastic shape. She’s a little tighter, maybe more mature, had a couple really good works,” Beckman said. “I just feel like there are some elements where she still can improve.” Bless the Broken took a serious step forward making her second start in blinkers last month. Anonima has progressed nicely this winter for Kenny McPeek, though Irad Ortiz, whom McPeek rarely uses, will ride her Saturday. Brian Hernandez, the trainer’s go-to jockey, has the mount on third-time McPeek starter Gowells Delight, a potential pace player. Aledean, a last-start off-turf allowance winner, completes the field. Five of the six horses will earn qualifying points toward the Kentucky Oaks, with the 50 going to the winner probably enough to make the Oaks field. Starting with Monomoy Girl in 2018, three of the last seven Oaks winners won the Rachel Alexandra. It could happen again. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.