Rebounding Cox has two for River City Handicap
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Brad Cox is starting to regain momentum after hitting what might be regarded as a slump during the first half of the Churchill fall meet.
With the only winner from his first 26 starters at the 21-day meet being Monomoy Girl in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff – which, by itself, does indeed contradict any notion of “slump” – Cox won a Friday allowance with the promising 2-year-old filly Unholy Alliance, then swept the Sunday co-features when Maybe Wicked and Take These Chains won back-to-back allowances.
Cox appears to hold the strongest hand for the lone stakes to be run here this weekend, the 41st River City Handicap on Saturday. Cox intends to run Mr. Misunderstood and Big Changes in the Grade 3, $100,000 River City, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for which entries were to be drawn Wednesday.
Other older horses likely for the River City include Flatlined, Team Colors, and probably two or three of the seven nominees from the barn of Mike Maker.
The fall stakes schedule ends with six graded races during Thanksgiving week. Closing day is Nov. 25.
A nod to Hog Creek, Ky.
The Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is a possible next start for Hog Creek Hustle, who earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure in going last to first in winning a seven-furlong allowance Saturday for trainer Vickie Foley. If the Kentucky Jockey Club comes back too quick, the Overanalyze colt then will hit the Fair Grounds trail to the Louisiana Derby.
Hog Creek Hustle, now a winner in 2 of 3 starts, was named for the hometown of Patty Tipton, who helped organize the Something Special Racing partnership that includes six other members, “all friends and family,” she said. “We’ve already had some pretty big offers, but we’re planning on having a lot of fun with this colt. You can’t put a price on fun.”
Hog Creek, located in Montgomery County, Ky., is so small it wasn’t even included in the latest U.S. census.
“It’s just a little place at the top of a holler,” Tipton said.
Well-matched Thursday feature
Two allowances anchor a 10-race Thursday card at Churchill, with the nominal feature being an $89,500 turf mile (race 3) that drew six fillies and mares.
Party Boat, a last-out winner over the Woodbine turf for Graham Motion, is a 2-1 morning-line favorite, but Streamline, Hachi, and Bonnie Arch also figure to take plenty of action in a competitive spot.
The other allowance (race 9) also is for fillies and mares on turf, with an oversubscribed field set to go 5 1/2 furlongs for an $82,000 purse. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.
