Idiomatic to Personal Ensign after hard-fought Molly Pitcher win
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The trio of horses trainer Brad Cox ran at Monmouth Park last Saturday all shipped up to Saratoga the following day and are targeting stakes here in late August.
The reigning champion older dirt filly Idiomatic, who won a dogged stretch duel with Soul of an Angel to win the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher by a head, will be aimed at the Grade 1 Personal Ensign on Aug. 23. Her four-length victory in last year’s Personal Ensign was the first of three straight Grade 1 victories that helped clinch her an Eclipse Award.
Idiomatic got away with a pedestrian first half-mile in the Molly Pitcher but was confronted by Soul of an Angel, ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., going into the far turn. The two duked it out through the final three furlongs with Idiomatic prevailing for her 11th career victory from 15 starts.
“Irad rode to win the race,” Cox said. “He recognized there was no pace obviously and attacked her and made a race of it from the three-eighths pole home and [Idiomatic] was able to dig in. I thought she came out of it really well. Obviously, the first half of the race didn’t take much out of her so she really ran like half a race.”
Timberlake, third behind Dornoch in the Grade 1 Haskell, will be turned back in distance and aimed toward the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens, a seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds on the undercard of the Aug. 24 Travers.
The Haskell was Timberlake’s first start since he finished fourth in the Arkansas Derby on March 30. Cox said Timberlake will cut back to a one-turn race for the first time since he won the Grade 1 Champagne at Aqueduct last fall.
“I think we’ve seen enough of him around two turns for the time being,” Cox said. “I’d like to cut him back and see if it can propel him forward where he can be competitive in the Grade 1s.”
Cox said he also plans to run Vettriano, a winner of two New York-bred allowance races, in the Jerkens. Sheila Rosenblum’s Lady Sheila Stable has bought part-interest in Vettriano from Kerri Radcliffe.
Highland Falls, beaten 5 1/4 lengths when second to Tapit Trice in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup, will be rematched with that horse in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 1.
In the Monmouth Cup, Cox felt Highland Falls was somewhat compromised by being down on the inside, but the way Tapit Trice ran, it most likely would not have mattered.
“Possibly we end up in the Jockey Club Gold Cup,” Cox said.
Cox does plan to run First Mission, fourth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster on June 29, in the Grade 1 Whitney here on Aug. 3. Cox said First Mission was scheduled to work Saturday at Churchill Downs and ship here after that.
On Sunday at Saratoga, Cox sent out the 2-year-old filly Immersive to a two-length debut victory. A daughter of Nyquist, Immersive ran six furlongs in 1:12.60 and earned a 68 Beyer Speed Figure. It was the second win of the meet for Cox, along with six runner-up finishes from 13 starters.
“The track was a little dead it seemed like this past weekend, not sure what to make of the time, but I do think she’s a filly that is going to be better going two turns,” Cox said. “We’ll keep her at Saratoga for the time being, there’s not a lot options, it’s a little too early to determine where we’re going to go.”
On Saturday here, Cox will debut Invictus, a 2-year-old son of Into Mischief out of the multiple Grade 1-winning mare Serengeti Empress. The colt brought $1.2 million as a yearling at the 2023 Keeneland sale.
“I like him, he seems to be quick,” Cox said. “He showed us enough in the mornings to put him on a van to Saratoga. Hopefully, he gets a good trip and I think he can be right there.”
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