COVFEFE Sets Track Record In Miss Preakness (G3)

May 17, 2019

Cox-Trained 3-Year-Old Filly Runs Six Furlongs in 1:07.70

BALTIMORE – LNJ Foxwoods’ Covfefe, in her second start of the year, dominated eight rivals in earning her first career stakes victory with a record-shattering performance in Friday’s $150,000 Adena Springs Miss Preakness (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.

The 34^th running of the six-furlong Miss Preakness for 3-year-old fillies was the first of four graded-stakes and second of seven stakes overall worth $1.15 million on the 14-race Black-Eyed Susan Day program.

In registering his third consecutive win of the day and second straight in a stakes, Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano needed only his hands to guide Covfefe ($5.60) to the wire in 1:07.70 over a fast main track, eclipsing the course record of 1:09 set by Northern Wolf Aug. 18, 1990.

The previous Miss Preakness stakes record was 1:10.0, set by Lucky Livi May 18, 2000.

Covfefe, trained by Brad Cox, turned away an early challenge from Congrats Gal through fractions of 22.24 and 44.43 seconds, straightening for home firmly in command and extending her advantage with every stride in an 8 ½-length romp. It was her third win from four career starts.

Pimlico-based stakes winner Please Flatter Me ran second, 3 ½ lengths ahead of Tomlin in third. It was another 1 ½ lengths back to Midnight Fantasy in fourth.

One race earlier, Castellano captured the $100,000 Fidelity First & Blackwell Real Estate Skipat Stakes aboard Chalon in a stakes-record 1:09.46.

$150,000 Adena Springs Miss Preakness (G3) Quotes

Brad Cox (Winning trainer, Covfefe): “Javier did a great job. She did break the track record? It doesn’t matter, but she’s fast. We weren’t hell-bent on getting to the lead today. We were going to let the speed go if there was a lot of it. Javier did a great job of letting her fall into the race. I’m super pleased with her. This filly, we’ve thought she was a superstar from the start. To ship her to a Grade 1 [Frizette last fall] off breaking her maiden should tell you we like her. She put it together today.”

(Cox, who saddled his first career winner at Pimlico, said he would take a look at Saratoga’s Grade 1 Test)

“She’s worthy of trying a Grade 1.”

Javier Castellano (Winning jockey, Covefe): “She did it very easy. I didn’t expect her to be on the lead. She has speed but the way I handicapped the race, in the back of my mind I didn’t want to take the pace because I knew it was going to be really fast and I was looking to save something for the end. But it didn’t work that way. She broke out of the gate and I had the best horse in the race. Let’s put in a great performance today and that’s exactly what she did today.

“I know she’s a good filly and she’s just a super -fast horse. It didn’t surprise me the way she performed today. I felt we were going fast but [going in 1:07.70] didn’t go through my mind once.”

 About Pimlico Race Course

Legendary Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness® Stakes, the Middle Jewel in horse racing’s famed Triple Crown, first opened its doors on October 25, 1870, and is the second oldest racetrack in the United States. Pimlico has played host to racing icons and Baltimoreans have seen the likes of legendary horses such as Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Affirmed, American Pharoah and Cigar thunder down the stretch in thrilling and memorable competition. For more information on Pimlico, visit www.pimlico.com.

The Stronach Group is North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, home of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is also a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry. For more information contact David Joseph at david.joseph@marylandracing.com or call 954.658.7156.