by Breeders' Cup Notes Team
November 2, 2019
Winning trainer Brad Cox (Covfefe) – “She’s a champion, hopefully. I feel like championship honors were on the line for champion filly and mare sprinter. I hope she locked that up. Two Grade 1s; two very prestigious races. She overcame a lot today too. I know this race hasn’t been around a long, long time but I think eight Test winners maybe have tried this and not been able to break through. One, two and three were all holes horses hadn’t performed well from, 3 year olds hadn’t performed well in the race. The list went on of all these things which hadn’t been done. But I didn’t waiver. I thought there was no shot of her not running her race. I knew she was going to run her race. You just stay optimistic and know your horse is doing well and the rest will take care of itself.”
Winning jockey Joel Rosario (Covfefe) – “Coming out of the one hole, there were a couple horse that showed more speed out of there. I was able to work my way out and get her in the clear. After that, she did all the work.”
Second-place trainer Simon Callaghan (Bellafina) – “I think Flavien didn't make the right move at a vital point. I think if he goes outside (instead of inside on the backstretch), I think she wins. She ran great. It’s disappointing.”
Second-place jockey Flavian Prat (Bellafina) – “The filly broke just OK and I got squeezed out of the break. I decided to drop in. From there she was traveling well. She made a good move, I thought, turning for home. I thought I was going to catch him, but as soon as the winner saw me she re-engaged.”
Third-place assistant trainer Roger Horgan (Dawn the Destroyer) – “She ran fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. Those are two fabulous fillies who ran one-two. She was the best of the rest. We’re proud of her.”
Third-place jockey Tyler Gaffalione (Dawn the Destroyer) – “It was a great effort by the filly today. She settled nicely. She put in a good run. The speed just got away from her.”
Sixth-place jockey Javier Castellano (Second choice Come Dancing) – “I don’t think she liked this track surface. I was in the perfect spot behind the leaders, and they were going fast. It was just like I handicapped it. But at the three-eighths pole when I asked her, there was nothing. She never got into the bridle. She is such a consistent filly, this just wasn’t her.”