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TRAINER OF THE QUARTER
B RA D COX The TRM Trainer of the Quarter has been won by Brad Cox. Cox and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally acclaimed range of TRM supplements, as well as a bottle of fine Irish whiskey. Bill Heller Eclipse Sportswire, Frances J. Karon, Enzina Mastrippolito he quote greeting visitors to the Brad Cox Racing website tells you all you need to know about the 38-year-old trainer on an unbelievable roll: “I think to be successful at this, you’ve got to be somewhat obsessed.” How could he not be? In the space of six days, Cox, who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, five blocks
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from Churchill Downs, realized he has two live contenders for the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks: Monomoy Girl, who gave Cox his first Grade 1 stakes victory when she won the Ashland Stakes by 5½ lengths at Keeneland on April 7th; and Sassy Sienna, who rallied to take the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes by a nose at Oaklawn Park on April 13th. Monomoy Girl is now
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five-for-six, the lone miss a second by a neck in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes last year. “When she hit the wire, it was like, ‘Wow!’” Cox said. “To get a Grade 1 is something I’ll never forget. She means a lot to us.” Cox’s success isn’t surprising to trainer Dallas Stewart, Cox’s mentor for five years before he ventured on his own in 2004. “Brad is doing a great job,” Stewart said. “I’m very proud of him. He works hard. He’s doing what he should be doing. He’s knocking it out of the park.” No lie there. In 2017, Cox posted career highs in victories and earnings for the fourth consecutive year, finishing eighth in wins (204) and ninth in earnings ($8.83 million) in North America. So far this year, he’s fifth in both categories. That’s quite a progression from winning just 52 races and $1.1 million in his first five years total. Cox said he never wavered in his belief that he would be more successful during his lean years. “There’s no substitute for the hours you put in,” he said. “I kept telling myself, ‘You’re one of the younger guys doing it. You’ll get a break.’ I never even thought about doing something