Hit Show Puts Brad Cox Barn At The Top Of Kenneland Charts For 2025

What’s the best way to make it to the top of the charts? Perhaps it is being part of a Hit Show.

Saturday, October 25, closed the curtains on racing at Keeneland for 2025. Always super competitive, the Fall Meet training title came down to the last day and even last few races. The good news for trainer Brad Cox was he had a Hit Show waiting in the wings.

The grade 3 Hagyard Fayette Stakes for three-year-olds and up was a showdown for the top spot among conditioners. Tied for the lead were Kentucky training staples Brad Cox and Brendan Walsh. Both saddled big-time contenders with Walsh sending out Gosger, who was the post-time favorite and one for one lifetime at Keeneland while Cox had the veteran Hit Show, who was also unbeaten at Keeneland in two previous outings and the 2025 Dubai World Cup winner. This was almost like a game seven setting with the all marbles on the line.

The horses broke and as the drama unfolded there was Gosger stalking the pace and Hit Show not far behind and preparing to pounce. As the horses turned for home, Walsh’s charge took the lead and headed towards the wire with Hit Show looming. Under the expert guidance of meet-leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Hit Show split horses and used his customary late kick while bolting to the lead in deeper stretch. Strongly rolling to the finish, Hit Show closed the curtains a length to the good.

“Hit Show is a very, very consistent horse and Irad did an excellent job of keeping him in the race early from the outside post”, says Cox. “He saved ground around both turns and finished strong. He has been very good all year and we are very fortunate to have a horse like him in our barn. We have been lucky enough to have a lot of nice horses in our barn over the last ten years or so and now he ranks up there with our top money earners.”

The win by Hit Show provided Cox with his 12^th win of the meet and secured the training title for this crafty conditioner. Having tied with Walsh for the title in the Spring Meet, Cox wears the overall crown for 2025 as leading trainer at historic Keeneland Race Course. The Hagyard Fayette score marked the 11^th trip to the winner’s circle in 22 lifetime starts for Hit Show and pushed this son of Candy Ride’s earnings to $8,785,183. This was also the eighth training title for Brad Cox at Keeneland.