Sevier Gives Cox Tie For Trainer Lead After 0 For 13 Start

Trainer Brad Cox, who ranks fourth in North America for overall wins, went 0 for 13 to start the Ellis Park meet, with five of those being seconds. But those seconds have been turning into victories, with Cox winning with four of his next five starters.

That includes front-running Sevier taking a $43,000 allowance race Sunday with a $40,000 optional claiming price by 2 3/4 lengths over Town Classic, motoring six furlongs in 1:08.77 over a muddy track that was packed down. The track record is 1:07.89, set in 2015 by the accomplished Limousine Liberal.

“He’s just really grown and become like a really confident horse,” said Tessa Bisha, who oversees Cox’s Ellis Park stable of 72 strong. “He has a way he likes to do things, and you don’t get in his way. He’s just come into his own once we figured out what he wanted to do. He’s been very consistent since then. He just wants to be left alone. He could probably run from wherever, but you can’t tell him you’re going to rate him. He gets high on being on the lead.”

The irony is that Shortleaf Stable’s 4-year-old colt is bred for stamina, being by Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags and out of mare by Horse of the Year Mineshaft.

“He’s bred to go 1 1/4 miles, but he’s built like a sprinter,” said Robby Albarado after his third win on the card.

“He looks like a hotrod,” Bisha said. “He’s kind of butt-high, that real hotrod look to him, even though he is a big horse and long legs. He’s bred to be a classic-distance horse. But we tried it, it didn’t work out at all. We kind of figured out he’s a six-furlong to a one-turn mile kind of guy.”

All four of the Cox stable’s victories have come in allowance races in a three-day span that saw the barn jump from 0-fer to tied for the lead with Chris Hartman.

“Now that Brad’s barn is fairly large, I think we have a more consistent cycle of horses,” Bisha said. “Where it used to be we’d kind of run them all hard over the winter at Oaklawn and Fair Grounds, meets where we really love to do well. I mean, we love to do well everywhere. But this year we had horses coming around fresh for Keeneland and fresh for Churchill.”

The lifelong Louisvillian had huge meets at the Fair Grounds, where he was the leading trainer for the second straight year; at Keeneland, where he tied Wesley Ward for the spring title; and at Churchill Downs, where his 24 victories ranked second only to Steve Asmussen’s 30 but his $1,616,482 topped the standings. That included taking track’s second-biggest race, the Kentucky Oaks won by Monomoy Girl.

“I don’t really know what explains the seconds,” Bisha said of the first part of the Ellis meet. “I feel like we have the ammunition to win consistently. We had a couple that were really short prices that should have had the consistency of form and the ability to do it and just didn’t fire.”

Two of their winners have fired off long layoffs, including Term of Art taking a second-level allowance Saturday in his first start since the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby almost 10 months ago.

“That was a horse that should have outclassed that field,” she said. “It’s just that he hadn’t had the confidence-building experience of a win in quite a while.”

The filly Sense of Bravery is 2 for 2 since joining Cox’s stable and after a nine-month layoff, winning a Churchill Downs maiden race and an Ellis allowance Friday to start the barn’s streak. Turner Time, a winner Saturday, came in off a four-month break.

Cox, whose first training title anywhere was in 2015 at Ellis Park, has started only a handful of 2-year-olds this meet but has said the track figures prominently into his development of the stable’s young horses.

“I think that as he’s developing a name for himself with these more classic-distance races, he’s been getting more horses with that long pedigree,” Bisha said. “There are a few here that we love the way they’re training but we just don’t feel they’re going to be ready as early as we thought. Last year we had more horses that showed (precociousness), and this year it’s been more of a developing game, really trying to make sure they’re ready for that first experience.”

Of course that’s exactly what happened last summer when Monomoy Girl trained all summer at Ellis Park before making her first start after the meet ended at Indiana Grand.

“We had her all summer here last year,” Bisha said. “She was no doubt talented, but we had no idea the depth of that talent until we saw her run a couple of times. None of us knew she’d become what she did. We liked her but we didn’t know she’d be who she is. She was a horse that was really immature mentally, so we picked the easiest race we could find, where we thought she wouldn’t get run off her feet.”

Cox easily leads the Ellis money standings at $160,586 so far this meet. For the year in North America, he has 143 wins, good for fourth in the standings and only two behind Robertino Diodoro. Karl Broberg leads at 307, with Steve Asmussen at 218. Cox had a huge night at Indiana Grand Saturday, winning three stakes and finishing second in two others out of the five stakes in which he participated. Pinch Hit, who won the Mari Hulman George, is expected to make her next start in Ellis Park’s Grade 3 Groupie Doll on Aug. 12.

Hartman-trained Excessivespending takes open allowance

Trainer Chris Hartman kept up his hot hand at Ellis Park, with the 4-year-old filly Excessivespending drawing off in the stretch for a three-quarters of a length victory over Justa Lady in Sunday’s $45,000 open allowance race.

Hartman won for a meet-leading fourth time out of his first six starts, then had a second in two more starts Sunday. He won the first two races on July 5 and was in the paddock for the third race when Ellis Park called off the remaining races out of safety concerns with the extreme heat.

“So far it’s gone well,” Hartman said of the meet. “It’s a little better when you get to run, right? This filly actually must love Ellis, because she’s won both starts here.”

Excessivespending, a daughter of Preakness winner Shackleford, ran 5 1/2 furlongs over turf rated “good” in 1:04.15 over the Wright Implement grass course. She now is 4-4-1 in 17 starts. Hartman said Excessivespending could be pointed toward a race at Kentucky Downs, perhaps the $450,000, Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint.

 “Horses who run well over the turf here seem to like it over there,” Hartman said. “So it’s definitely in the wheelhouse for her if we can get the right spot.”

It was the first time that Hartman had ridden Martin Chuan, who recently relocated from his native Peru, where he was the leading rider.

 “I think he’s a very good rider,” Hartman said of Chuan, who has two wins, two seconds and a third in 11 mounts this meet. “This is the first horse he’s ridden for me, but I’ve watched him ride a handful of races and some of his races on video. He rides a really good race, smart rider. I think he’s going to make it.”

Hartman said he used a translator to give Chuan instructions in the paddock. “He rode, I mean, the absolute exactly what we asked of him in this race,” he said. “I think he’s a pretty good horseman, too, watching him work horses in the morning. He does a good job.”

Chuan is 22 years old, as his agent, Jake Romans, son of trainer Dale Romans. “Jake’s got a pretty good little rider there,” Hartman said. “He’s starting off good, too — Jake and the rider.”

Apprentice jockey Edgar Morales won two races Sunday to take an 11-10 lead over James Graham, with one winner on the card, in the meet riding standings.

Week ahead: Making of a Racehorse and College Day on tap

The fan-education program Making of a Racehorse has its first of two dates Saturday, July 21, starting at 7 a.m. Central by the starting gate in the mile chute, positioned by the south end of the parking lot near the Kentucky exit and the Ohio River bridges. The free, family-friendly session will include a visit to trainer John Hancock’s barn (with young children getting supervised pony rides), a tour of the jockeys’ room and an up-close look at how racing cards are put together in the racing office. Retired jockey and current jockey agent Francisco Torres will be among the hosts. The program is scheduled to end around 10:30 a.m. and is structured to provide flexibility for those who can’t stay the entire time. Participants are welcome to buy breakfast in the track kitchen.

Staged in conjunction with the Kentucky HBPA, which represents owners and trainers at Kentucky’s five tracks, Making of a Racehorse is designed to give the public an up-close look at what goes on in the mornings to prepare horses for racing in the afternoons. The second and last session with be Saturday, Aug. 18.

The Kentucky HBPA also is teaming with Ellis Park on Sunday, July 22 for College Day, with a laptop computer and $1,000 scholarship given out via drawing after every race to a full-time student. Sign-ups will be at the north end of the grandstand tunnel, nearest the open-air tents and paddock. Students should bring valid college I.D. or acceptance letter from a college, university, junior or community, trade or technical college.

The popular Furniture Day returns Sunday, July 29. Best Home Furnishings will give away a piece of furniture via drawing after each of eight races.