Belmont's Frizette Allows Covfefe to Stay at One Turn

Traveling from Kentucky to New York and then back to Kentucky might seem an odd path to the Breeders' Cup, but it's actually a sensible route for a highly promising 2-year-old filly.

When LNJ Foxwoods' Covfefe made her career debut at Churchill Downs Sept. 16, she created a buzz for much more than a name stemming from an infamous mangled tweet from President Trump. The daughter of Into Mischief  lived up to her prohibitive 1-2 odds by setting the early pace and then pulling away with ease to record a 9 1/4-length victory in a quick 1:10.20 that had observers pondering superlatives as opposed to jibberish.

"She had been very forward in her training, and we expected her to run really big in her first start, and she didn't let us down," trainer Brad Cox said.

Off that win, and with the $2 million Tito's Handmade Vodka Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) scheduled for Churchill Nov. 2, a natural steppingstone for Covfefe seemed to be the $400,000 Darley Alcibiades (G1) at nearby Keeneland Oct. 5. 

But Cox wasn't thrilled with the prospect of running the $250,000 purchase from the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale around two turns at a mile and a sixteenth just 19 days after a maiden win, so he looked north to New York.

Instead, Covfefe will prep for the Breeders' Cup Oct. 7 at Belmont Park in the $400,000 Frizette Stakes (G1), which will be contested at a one-turn mile.

"The Frizette is a one-turn mile, and with her having only one race, I didn't feel that it made a lot of sense to go a mile and a sixteenth around two turns now. It's not that she can't handle it, it's just that the one-turn mile made more sense," Cox said. "She's also coming back a little quick off the maiden win, and we get a few more days with the race being on Sunday in New York as opposed to Friday in Kentucky."

Covfefe earned a superb Beyer Speed Figure of 86 in her maiden win, heightening interest in how she will handle the added distance against seven rivals in a Breeders' Cup Challenge race that will earn the winner an all-fees paid spot in the BC Juvenile Fillies.

"No doubt she has a future going long," Cox said about Covfefe, who drew post 6 and will be ridden by Javier Castellano for the first time. "When a horse has as much speed as her, the first thing you wonder is how far can she carry it, and ultimately that will be the question. At this point, the mile makes more sense, and we'll gradually stretch her out. Churchill Downs is her home track, so the Breeders' Cup is something we'll entertain as long as things are going the right way."

Among the challengers are a pair of fillies from the barn of trainer Jeremiah Englehart. Fortune Farm's Sue's Fortune is 2-for-2 with a win in the Adirondack Stakes (G2) Aug. 11 at Saratoga Race Course, while Gold Square's Take Me to Hardoon is coming off a maiden win over fellow New York-breds in her debut at the Spa Sept. 2.

Who Englehart views as the more talented of the two might surprise some.

"I think Take Me to Hardoon is a little more talented. At some point, she'll show more than Sue's Fortune," he said. "Sue's Fortune is one of those tough horses who always tries. She's a Rocky Balboa of the division who is not the prettiest at doing things, but she can take a punch and will keep running her race. She likes to run. Whereas 'Hardoon' has the look, has the pedigree, and has everything else to make you think she can be a rock star in the division. She just has to prove it."

Sue's Fortune, a homebred, New York-bred daughter of Jump Start , has not raced beyond 6 1/2 furlongs, but Englehart is hopeful that a couple of solid works leading into the race will help her handle the one-turn mile.

"Sue's Fortune had never wowed me with her works, but her last two show me she's really ready," Englehart said. "I'm not sure about the distance. She'll have to show us that she has the pedigree to handle the distance. Jump Start can get you a mile, and I'm hoping that having a Catienus mare on the bottom (Democrat Taxes) will allow her to stretch out."

Sue's Fortune has the outside post in the field of eight and will switch riders, with Irad Ortiz Jr. replacing Junior Alvarado. Take Me to Hardoon drew post 3 and will be ridden again by David Cohen.

Entries: Frizette S. (G1)

Belmont Park, Sunday, October 07, 2018, Race 7

• Grade I
• 1m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 2 yo Fillies
• 4:46 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Brucia La Terra (MD)	Dylan Davis	120	Barclay Tagg	12/1
2	2Jaywalk (KY)	Joel Rosario	120	John C. Servis	5/1
3	3Take Me to Hardoon (NY)	David Cohen	120	Jeremiah C. Englehart	15/1
4	4Nonna Madeline (KY)	John R. Velazquez	120	Todd A. Pletcher	6/1
5	5Graceful Princess (KY)	Manuel Franco	120	Ralph E. Nicks	3/1
6	6Covfefe (KY)	Javier Castellano	120	Brad H. Cox	8/5
7	7Cassies Dreamer (KY)	Junior Alvarado	120	Barclay Tagg	10/1
8	8Sue's Fortune (NY)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	120	Jeremiah C. Englehart	8/1