Champions Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality have arrived at Oaklawn Park for weekend stakes engagements. The horses were part of a handful of runners trainer Brad Cox sent up from Fair Grounds. Others making the ship included Owendale for the Grade 3, $600,000 Razorback Handicap here Saturday. Essential Quality runs on the same card in the Grade 3, $750,000 Southwest Stakes and Monomoy Girl starts her season Sunday in the Grade 3, $250,000 Bayakoa. 

The horses arrived at about 8 p.m. Central on Wednesday night. Cox led both champions off the van and into his barn at Oaklawn. He said provided both do well overnight, plans are to track the horses Thursday. It was a mild night in the 60s when the horses arrived Wednesday. 

There's been a Racing Festival of the South feel this week, with warmer temperatures greeting some high-profile runners shipping into town for the first graded stakes of the meet at Oaklawn.  

For a video interview with Cox and some Wednesday night images of the arrival of the champions, please see the Twitter account @DRFRampellini and the Instagram account @maryrampellini