Drum Roll Please kicks off a stakes sweep for Brad Cox (NYRA/Coglianese)
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y.— Trainer Brad Cox celebrated a successful day at Aqueduct Racetrack Saturday when sending out Gold Square’s Drum Roll Please to win the $150,000 Jerome and Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Comparative to take the $150,000 Ladies five races later. The former was awarded an 80 Beyer Speed Figure for his 3 3/4-length score while the latter received a career-best 89 with a determined neck victory.
“They both came back really good and ate up great yesterday,” said Dustin Dugas, Cox’s Belmont Park-based assistant. “The track was slow and I was waiting to see how tired they would come back, but they were both bouncing around in the shed row this morning and are as good as you’d want them to come back.”
Drum Roll Please, a chestnut son of Hard Spun, scored his first stakes victory with an off-the-pace trip under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano in the one-mile route for sophomores, which awarded to top-five finishers 10-5-3-2-1 qualifying points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs. Drum Roll Please tracked in fifth in the early stages before angling out six-wide in the turn for his run at pacesetter El Grande O. He put in a sustained run down the center of the course to pass his foe near the eighth pole and roll home to a comfortable score in a final time of 1:41.91.
The effort came on the heels of a game third-place finish in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen in December at the Big A where Castellano guided the talented colt through a similar trip and made up ground late to land 4 3/4 lengths back of the top pair of Dornoch and Sierra Leone.
Dugas praised the ride from Castellano, who also rode Drum Roll Please to this third-out maiden score in October at the Big A.
“He’s lightly raced and the experience he gained yesterday was the main thing,” said Dugas. “After Javier won on him, he was really excited about him and even after the Remsen, he said he would make the trip to ride him again. He really fits the horse well.”
Dugas added Drum Roll Please will continue training in New York and will likely target a return to two turns in the nine-furlong Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on February 3 at the Big A which offers 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
“The way he trains, it seems like he’s the type who can go all day,” said Dugas. “He’s a chunk and he’s a fun horse. He’s always been spunky in the mornings.”
Comparative also scored her first stakes victory with a pace-pressing trip under Manny Franco in the nine-furlong Ladies. The daughter of Street Sense tracked close to the pace set by She’s Mo Bubbly and was passed in the final turn by Saddle Up Jessie while Franco began a strong hand ride into the stretch. Saddle Up Jessie appeared to have superior momentum on the outside as Franco was all out aboard his charge down the lane, but Comparative dug in late to take the lead just before the wire and score by a neck in a final time of 1:55.83.
The win came on the heels of a successful return from a six-month respite in November when Franco guided the bay to a similar hard-fought victory in a local optional claimer.
Dugas said that Comparative finds her best stride thanks to Franco’s strength.
“Manny fits her so well, and he’s such a strong rider,” said Dugas. “She needs that. She’s a very nice filly, but she needs a strong, special rider. You always heard everyone talk on the backstretch about how strong Manny is, but I think everyone is noticing now. He’s shining.”
Comparative, a full-sister to the Cox-trained dual graded stakes-winner Shared Sense, has now won four of her last five starts, including a sixth-out maiden victory in February and an additional optional claiming triumph in April at Fair Grounds.
“I like her a lot and she’s such a cool filly,” said Dugas. “She’s happy to train and loves to do it. I’m not sure where she’ll go next. Brad will talk with Godolphin and review it with them and go from there.”
Comparative banked $82,500 for her Ladies victory and now boasts total purse earnings of $275,995 through a consistent record of 10-4-0-3.
