It’s safe to say the word was out on Sunday about Covfefe — and this time it had nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
A 2-year-old filly named after the mysterious, viral and now-deleted tweet sent by Trump on March 31, 2017, romped on debut at Churchill Downs in maiden special weight company.
"She came to us in the spring with a reputation as a runner, and she got it done," trainer Brad Cox said of the 3-5 favorite.
The daughter of Into Mischief, a $250,000 purchase for LNJ Foxwoods, dusted eight rivals going six furlongs in a final time of 1:10.20 under jockey Shaun Bridgmohan.
She certainly seems eligible to step into a stakes race next out — perhaps the Oct. 28 Rags to Riches that Cox-trained Monomoy Girl won a year ago, launching her run to the Kentucky Oaks.
"We think a lot of her," Cox said of Covfefe. "There's a lot of talent there, and we'll see how she comes out of it."
As Covfefe crossed the wire, Churchill Downs track announcer Travis Stone delivered a call apt for the moment, saying the 3-5 favorite “trumped the competition. She. Ran. Huge.”
This time last year, Cox devised a plan leading up to the Oaks for Monomoy Girl and kept to it throughout the winter and into spring. That filly's still riding a streak of of four straight Grade 1 wins. Now, Cox could look to replicate the pattern this season with a proven runner in Covfefe.
"It definitely gives you some ideas and feeling to obviously how the 3-year-old filly division will play out and what you may see this winter down south," he said. "...We've been there. We got three fillies in the Oaks this year, and there are hopefully some stakes races in the future for her."
