With 50 horses stabled at Payson Park Training Center this winter for the first time in his two-decade career, the 2020 and ’21 Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox now has a geographically easier time targeting Florida races.

On Wednesday, Cox won with his first Tampa Bay Downs starter since 2019. And since Nov. 30, he’s compiled a 1-3-0 record from six starts at Gulfstream Park, where he started only 50 runners over the past five years, generally by shipping in from his customary bases at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park, where he still has stalls.

With horse-training duties wrapped up at Payson on Thursday, Cox was squeezing in a bit of personal conditioning prior to boarding an afternoon flight from Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans when TDN called to ask about his decision to keep a division in Florida this winter.

“I’m walking through the airport right now just trying to get some steps in,” an on-the-move Cox told TDN before delving into an explanation about his stabling shift.

“We needed a place to prepare horses on the dirt, and there’s not a lot of [winter] options,” Cox said. “I wanted a place where I didn’t feel obligated to race anywhere. I just wanted a place where we could train. I’d never been to Payson, but heard nothing but good things about it from people like Bill Harrigan, Elliott Walden, and a lot of other guys. And obviously, Bill Mott and Christophe Clement have been there for long, long time, so that says a lot about it.

“We’ve got a lot of nice horses, and they can’t all end up at New Orleans or Hot Springs,” Cox continued. “Payson is also a place where we’re not going to get interrupted too much with regard to weather. Obviously, they’re going to get some rain. But look, right now at Oaklawn [where a snowstorm has KO’d racing for the upcoming weekend] it’s a little tough, and trying to keep a horse on a [GI Kentucky] Derby trail or [GI Kentucky] Oaks trail, it’s hard enough without having to avoid closures and stuff like that.”

Gulfstream is a 90-mile straight shot south from Payson, while Tampa is nearly 200 miles to the northwest on the opposite coast.

John Hancock, a Constitution-sired 3-year-old colt who is a half-brother to the 2020 GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes victress Speech, was bet to 8-5 favoritism for his Jan. 8 debut at Tampa. He was a bit antsy in the gate prior to the start, hopped at the break, accelerated to a clear lead, then drew off in the stretch when challenged prior to being put under wraps by jockey Samy Camacho for the final 70 yards.

“That was like riding a machine. I didn’t ask him 100%, just a little bit at the quarter pole, and after that I was on cruise control,” Camacho told the Tampa media team after the win.

Owned in partnership by Siena Farm, CHC, Inc., and breeder WinStar Farm, John Hancock won by three lengths. His 1:09.45 time for six furlongs (.78 seconds off the track record) equated to an 81 Beyer Speed Figure.

“I thought he performed very well,” Cox said. “Really well-balanced horse. I think based on pedigree and the way he travels, he can stretch [in distance]. I’m not sure where we’ll land. We’ll talk with the WinStar team and Elliott Walden, but I think the Sam F. Davis [Stakes Feb. 8 at Tampa] is a spot that we’re going to nominate to and take a look at; give him an opportunity to stretch out.”

Cox has his second Tampa starter of the season, Gin Gin (Hightail), entered as a main-track-only 3-5 favorite in Friday’s ninth race, a one-mile allowance/optional claimer. Gin Gin has not raced since finishing twelfth in the Kentucky Oaks last May.

Cox has a pair of high-priced sophomore firsters entered at Gulfstream on Saturday: Vanderbilt (Into Mischief) a $1.1-million KEESEP colt, is the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the fourth race over six furlongs. Wild Conqueror (Authentic), an $875,000 KEESEP colt, is 4-1 for the seventh race at one mile.