Timing of Dogwood as Breeders' Cup prep lures Covfefe

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Of all his many stakes horses, trainer Brad Cox gets asked most about Monomoy Girl, his first champion. But that might be changing.

“Covfefe is second most popular,” said Cox. “Actually, she might even be the most right now, with her name and all the Twitter stuff and everything.”

Indeed, with Monomoy Girl going unraced in 2019 after reigning supreme last year at 3, Covfefe might well have surged to the fore in the Cox barn. Named not long after President Trump made his infamous Twitter gaffe on May 31, 2017, Covfefe has become famous in the world of Thoroughbreds, particularly among 3-year-old filly sprinters.

Off a rousing victory in the Grade 1 Test at Saratoga Aug. 3, Covfefe will have her final Breeders’ Cup prep when heavily favored Saturday in the $125,000 Dogwood Stakes at Churchill Downs. Both the Dogwood and the Nov. 2 BC Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita are seven-furlong races.

Owned by the LNJ Foxwoods of the Roth family, Covfefe has won four of six starts – including a track record-shattering run in the Miss Preakness in May – and will proceed to California as one of the favorites for the Filly-Mare Sprint with a typical effort Saturday.

“We could’ve run in a couple other spots, but we thought the timing of this race toward the Breeders’ Cup was perfect, and that’s the most important factor,” said Cox. “Plus it’s for 3-year-olds only, and she gets to run out of her own stall.”

Shaun Bridgmohan has the mount Saturday, but Cox has yet to commit on a Breeders’ Cup jockey. Javier Castellano rode Covfefe in the Miss Preakness and Joel Rosario rode her in the Test.

A short field was expected when Dogwood entries are drawn Wednesday. Among the top challengers are Bell’s the One, Free Cover, and Istan Council.

Monomoy Girl, meanwhile, has been sent to WinStar Farm, where she is recovering from a muscle pull sustained in her recent training. Her ownership partners said they will race her next year at 5.