Cox Talks Good Cheer Ahead of Rachel Alexandra; Catching Freedom arrives at Fair Grounds

By Kevin Kilroy —-
Cox Talks Good Cheer Ahead of Rachel Alexandra

Catching Freedom arrives at Fair Grounds

$1 Million Estimated All Stakes Pick 5 Pool on “Louisiana Derby Preview Day”

New Orleans, La (Feb. 13, 2025) – Tabbed as the 6-5 morning line favorite, Godolphin’s grade 2 victress Good Cheer will look to keep her perfect record intact in Saturday’s $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Slated as the penultimate race on Saturday’s “Louisiana Derby Preview Day” 14-race program, the 1 1/16 miles Rachel Alexandra attracted a field of seven 3-year-old fillies. It is the first Oaks prep on the calendar to award 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers.

Taking the Golden Rod (G2) by 2 1/2 lengths and the Rags to Riches by 4 3/4 last fall at Churchill Downs, Good Cheer has already racked up 20 Oaks points, sitting tied for fourth on the leaderboard.

“She’s got a great mind,” Cox said. “She does everything well within herself and she’s full of class. We feel like we’ve taken her as far as we can take her since the Golden Rod. She’s responded well, she’s moving great, and I expect her to run big.”

The Medaglia d’Oro filly has been training in Florida at Payson Park in preparation for her sophomore debut.

“She’s always been a very consistent work horse throughout the summer leading up to her debut and through the fall at Churchill,” Cox said. “We’ve been seeing more of the same, which is positive.”

Good Cheer represents Cox’s shot at a fourth Rachel Alexndra title, beginning with Monomoy Girl in 2018, Turnerloose in 2022 and last year with Tarifa.

“If you were going to compare her to one it would probably be Monomoy Girl given what they both accomplished at two,” Cox said. “They both won their debut at (Horseshoe Indianapolis). Monomoy Girl won the Rags to Riches but was narrowly defeated in the Golden Rod. Good Cheer has won both of them. At this point in time she’s in front of her because she’s a graded stake winner already.”

Monomoy Girl went on to win the Kentucky Oaks.

Luis Saez returns to the saddle and will guide Good Cheer from post 2.

Beyond the Oaks prep, Cox has Albaugh Family Stables’ Catching Freedom set to make his 4-year-old debut in the $250,000 Mineshaft presented by Hagyard GI By Relyne (G3). The reigning Louisiana Derby champion shipped in from Payson Park on Tuesday.

“I love him physically,” Cox said. “He seems to be better physically now than he was last year and he’s moving great. Obviously with his running style he has to get a set up. He showed up two days ago and looked unbelievable galloping yesterday. I think he’s set up for a good run.”

Catching Freedom was tabbed as the 3-1 morning line favorite and will be guided from post 5 with Flavien Prat in the irons.

Cox will unveil four 3-year-olds on “Louisiana Derby Preview Day,” including Coffee Talk in a salty maiden special weight for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles (Race 9). The Godolphin homebred will face three Triple Crown nominees including the 3-1 morning line favorite Cromwell who will be walking over from Cherie DeVaux’s barn, as well as Only in America, shipping in for Todd Pletcher, and the Steve Asmussen trained Yinzer.

“Coffee Talk has really come around the last month or so,” Cox said. “We put blinkers on him and I think he’s alright. He’s a nice horse. He’s been working well.”

Saturday’s 6-furlong maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies split into two fields, and Cox has a filly running in each of them. In Race 4, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds’ Velvet Vortex was made 9-2 in the morning line. The Complexity filly is a half to Faiza, who won her first five races including the Santa Anita Oaks (G2).

“She might want to go further than 3/4 miles but she’s talented,” Cox said. “She’s been very good in the mornings.”

Six stakes are scheduled to be run on “Louisiana Derby Preview Day,” including the $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star (G2), a Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prep which also awards 105 qualifying points.

Although Cox does not have a runner in this year’s Risen Star, the barn sent out the winner of the Lecomte with Juddmonte’s Disco Time.

“We had to slow down with him a little bit because of a minor issue that resolved itself,” Cox said. “He’s doing really good. Back galloping. He looks great, been out there the last few days galloping along and we’re ready to get him back pointing to a Derby prep. We’ll see if he gets us there. Juddmonte always does right by the horse, I never feel any pressure training for them. We’ll let him come along at his own pace.”

Slated as the finale of 14 races on “Louisiana Derby Preview Day,” post time for the Risen Star is 6:30 p.m. CT and it will be the last leg of an all-stakes 15% takeout, 50-cent Pick 5 with an estimated pool of $1,000,000. First post on Saturday, Feb. 15 is noon CT.

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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, La, Fair Grounds, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 153rd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 22, 2024 through March 23, 2025. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.