Silverbulletday Stakes: Trainer Brad Cox Holds a Strong Hand

Silverbulletday Stakes Odds and Post Position

Check out our predictions and odds for the Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds!

*Odds provided by author Brian Zipse.

Lecomte Stakes Predictions and Best Bets

Here are my plays ($50 in total)

$10 Exacta Part Wheel - Forest Chimes and Chop Chop over Forest Chimes, Chop Chop and The Alys Look = $40 

$5 Exacta Part Wheel - Forest Chimes and Chop Chop over Hayunevano = $10

If you're playing only to win, go with my top pick Forest Chimes (7/2).    

Trainer Brad Cox holds a strong hand when he sends out the favored pair of Chop Chop and The Alys Look in a field of seven 3-year-old fillies in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds.

Chop Chop is the likely favorite. The daughter of City of Light won her first two career starts, which both came on the grass and included a stakes race at Kentucky Downs. 

After that, she was an excellent second in the Grade 1 Alcibiades at Keeneland before finishing 13th in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies as the favorite in her most recent start. 

The Alys Look is a Connect filly who broke her maiden by seven lengths two starts back at Fair Grounds. She followed that up with a rallying second-place finish in the local Untapable Stakes.

Another filly to watch in the 1 mile and 70 yards affair is Forest Chimes, who is coming off a sharp win over the track three weeks ago.

Trained by Jason Barkley, the daughter of Tonalist came from well off the pace in her career debut and blew by the field to win by 7 1/2 lengths.

As a road to the Kentucky Oaks race, the Silverbulletday will award the top five finishers qualifying points on a 20-8-6-4-2 scale.

Silverbulletday Stakes Predictions and Race Analysis

Chop Chop

This daughter of City of Light was good enough in her first three career starts to go favored in the most important race of the year for juvenile fillies. 

Although she finished way back in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, a very wide trip gives her a reasonable excuse. Note that the filly that won it, Wonder Wheel, was the same filly that desperately held her off by a nose in the Grade 1 Alcibiades the start before.

Freshened since she looks to be working very well for trainer Brad Cox and should be ready to run. She is the filly to beat on Saturday.

The Alys Look

The second of the Cox pair, this daughter of Connect seems to be putting things together after a pair of tough runs in Kentucky to begin her career. 

In her first race at Fair Grounds, she made all the pace and dominated a maiden field while going the Silverbulletday distance. Next out, she was no match for the talented winner Pretty Mischievous but rallied well to be clearly second best in the local Untapable Stakes. 

I would think she would want to be closer to the pace this time around, but we shall see. I like her stablemate a bit better, but she is a clear threat. 

Forest Chimes

A daughter of the Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, this dark bay made short work of her maiden competition when unveiled in New Orleans three weeks ago by trainer Jason Barkley.

Clearly, a filly who will be right at home around two turns, she moves right into good stakes company on Saturday after the impressive debut. This will obviously be a tougher assignment, but the way she won over the track makes me believe that she will fit right in with this group. 

The Cox-trained fillies have the experience edge, but any move forward off that first effort will give her a big shot here. She is the top pick.

Amber Cascade

This daughter of Free Drop Billy has been able to improve with each start for trainer Cherie DeVaux. After showing little in her debut at Keeneland, she bounced back with a runner-up finish against maiden claimers at Churchill Downs when stretched to a mile.

Most recently, she was a decisive winner of a maiden race at FairGrounds three weeks ago. It was the same card that Forest Chimes won. 

Of the two, I clearly like Forest Chimes better. Still, this one is on the improve and should not be discounted.

Norah G

Trained by Patricia West, this gray daughter of Fast Anna will try both open company and two turns for the first time on Saturday. 

Against fellow Louisiana-breds, she has won two of three and just missed in her only loss. The last two came in stakes races. 

She comes in with good form, but the combination of jumps in both class and distance might be a little more than she wants. I am looking elsewhere.

Hayunevano

This Goldencents filly has every right to take a step forward after briefly getting to the lead in the Untapable before fading out of the picture to finish fourth. 

That initial stakes try came after a nice maiden score at Fair Grounds in her second career start, in which she went wire-to-wire.

It’s hard to know if she will improve enough to be a real threat against a tougher overall field this time around, but with the speed of the race, she must be considered and could add value to the exotics.

Cotton Candy Annie

This daughter of Sharp Azteca is the most experienced filly in the field with two wins in eight-lifetime starts. After five losing efforts to begin her career, she finally scored a breakthrough win against maiden claimers. 

She was able to make it two in a row with a win in the slop as a big longshot after that, but in her stakes debut, she looked a bit overmatched in the Untapable. Off that lone stakes try, which was at Fair Grounds, I find her hard to recommend here.

How to watch the Silverbulletday Stakes

Silverbulletday Stakes Race Information

• What: Silverbulletday Stakes 

• Location: Fair Grounds

• Time: Saturday, January 21 -- 6:30 pm Eastern time

• How to Watch: FanDuel TV

• Purse: $150,000