TORONTO, October 4, 2024 – Kokomo, trained and owned by Gail Cox, will look for a smooth journey when he goes postward in Sunday’s $250,000 Cup & Saucer Stakes at Woodbine.
A 1 1/16-mile event for Canadian-foaled 2-year-olds run over the E.P. Taylor turf, the 87th running of the Cup & Saucer has drawn 10 hopefuls, including Kokomo.
The son of Flameaway-Island Fever had a rough trip in his last outing, the $200,000 Simcoe Stakes, at 6 ½ furlongs on the Woodbine main track.
After tracking the lead pair along the rail, Kokomo was roused in the turn, but had to be steadied sharply in tight, and lost his path with five sixteenths remaining.
“He got knocked into the rail,” noted Cox. “Once that happened, that was that. He was a little scraped up, but he was fine. I sent him to the farm for about a week to recoup. He has also run a lot, so we decided to give him a little time to re-energize.
“He is doing great – he doesn’t miss a beat. He eats all the time and he’s pretty easy to have in the barn. He’s doing well.”
Komomo put in a pair of works ahead of the Cup & Saucer, including a five-furlong breeze, in 1:02.00, on the dirt training track on Tuesday.
The chestnut colt, bred by Phoenix Rising Farms, has compiled a mark of 1-3-0 from 5 starts.
He debuted in May and finished second in a 4 ½-furlong sprint over the Woodbine main track.
That effort was followed by a pair of runner-up performances, one at five furlongs on the all-weather in June and the other over six panels on the E.P. Taylor turf in July.
On Aug. 4, Kokomo earned his first win, the neck victory coming at six furlongs over the Woodbine main.
Cox handed out high marks for how the rookie earned his breakthrough victory.
“The other horse had already gone by him and then he came back on. I thought it was just a great, determined effort on his part. He seems like he keeps running on. He doesn’t go to the front and then stops. He keeps digging in.”
As for what type of turf he would prefer, Cox isn’t certain at this point.
“I have to say I don’t know. He ran on the turf that one time in July and I thought it was a very good race. Flameaways seem to be able to run on anything. There is also a little bit of turf on the dam’s side.
“He is the type of a horse who just keeps running at about the same speed. He doesn’t have an explosive kick, but he just keeps on running. He always shows a lot of heart when he runs.”
Kokomo was a $65,000 (CDN) purchase at the 2023 CTHS Ontario Premier Yearling Sale.
“He was quite an attractive colt. I like Flameaway and I think he is an interesting sire. He’s by Scat Daddy, so it was good opportunity to buy an Ontario-bred at a very reasonable price.”
Diego Garcia is the groom.
Other starters include the Kevin Attard duo of Faber (5-2 in the morning line) and Dewolf (6-1), recent winner of the Bull Page Stakes. John Charalambous sends out Scorching (3-1), while Mark Casse has the trio of Ashley’s Archer (4-1), No Time (12-1) and Princess of Storm (12-1).
Hall of Fame trainer Jim Day has won 10 editions of the Cup & Saucer, including seven straight runnings from 1984-1990.
On Saturday, four turf stakes races share the spotlight, three (Grade 2 Nearctic, Grade 2 bet365 Dance Smartly and Grade 3 HPIbet Singspiel) on the E.P. Taylor course, and one (bet365 Algonquin) on inner.
Post time for Sunday is 1:10 p.m. Fans can wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and bet365.
Field for the Cup & Saucer Stakes (Race 9)
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Ashley’s Archer – Sofia Vives – Mark Casse
2 – Faber – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard
3 – Scorching – Patrick Husbands – John Charalambous
4 – Ready for Candy – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mike De Paulo
5 – No Time – Vincent Cheminaud – Mark Casse
6 – Dewolf – Rafael Herandez – Kevin Attard
7 – Dilwaala – David Moran – Steve Attard
8 – Notorious Gangster – Fraser Aebly – Josie Carroll
9 – Princess of Storm – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
10 – Kokomo – Jose Campos – Gail Cox
Chris Lomon, Woodbine
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