Chop Chop Back From Breeders' Cup in Silverbulletday

Returning to racing Jan. 21 for the first time since a lackluster performance in the Breeders' Cup is Selective's Chop Chop , who will contest the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for 3-year-old fillies going one mile and 70 yards over the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots dirt course.

The daughter of City of Light   saw a stellar 2-year-old season—starting with a dominating win her first time out in a one-mile turf maiden special weight test against nine others Aug. 14 at Ellis Park, and then proceeded to win the Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Kentucky Downs the following month on second asking.

In October, the Brad Cox trainee would be tested among top-level company in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) over the Keeneland main track, where she proved her versatility when taking home second behind eventual Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) victress Wonder Wheel .

Capping her 2022 season with a rough trip in the Juvenile Fillies, where she was caught five wide and could not pick up her pace, finishing in last place in the 13-horse field as the favorite.

"After her run in the Alcibiades and how well she was training leading up to the Breeders' Cup, I wasn't surprised she was the favorite," Cox said. "In that race, she went wide throughout and didn't get a favorable trip. It's tough to win when you're not in position turning for home going one mile and a sixteenth at Keeneland."

Bred in Kentucky by Cobra Farm and MRJ Thoroughbreds, she is out of the Giant's Causeway dam Grand Sofia .

"Chop Chop has been able to run well on both surfaces (dirt and turf), so I think she is a pretty genuine and honest filly who is fit and ready to roll," Cox said. "She got ready fairly quickly. We backed off a little bit after the Breeders' Cup but she never left the barn. I knew I wanted to have her running by the (Feb. 18) Rachel Alexandra (Stakes, G2), but since she's a long, lean, scopey filly, it didn't take much to get her ready. Her works have been phenomenal, so I think she's ready to run a big race."

With Florent Geroux aboard, Chop Chop will break from post No. 5. They teamed to win the Rachel Alexandra together in 2018 with eventual Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Monomoy Girl . 

The Silverbulletday offers qualifying points toward the Kentucky Oaks on a 20-8-4-2-1 basis to its top five finishers.

Cox also runs Ike and Dawn Thrash's The Alys Look, a closing runner-up in the Untapable Stakes Dec. 26. The Connect   filly has Luis Saez in the saddle.

"It's not a big field, so I think we'll let her find her stride, and maybe she'll be a little bit more forward than she was in the Untapable," Cox said. "The way she's been finishing up at the end of her races, she'll have a shot."

Also in the field is Louisiana-bred Norah G , who is sharp from a successful late 2-year-old season with three starts at the New Orleans oval.

Owned by Thomas Galvin, the Fast Anna  filly began her career on a winning note, taking a maiden special weight by 3 1/4 lengths in late November. She moved on to a runner-up finish in the Louisiana Champions Day Lassie Stakes and finished the year out with a win in the Louisiana Futurity Dec. 31.

Conditioned by Patricia West, the filly has earned $110,000 thus far from her nearly perfect record.

Others entered include Amber Cascade  who returns to Fair Grounds after finding success her last time out in a Dec 31. maiden special weight going 1 1/16 miles over the main track. Trained by Cherie DeVaux, the filly's first attempt was a ninth-place finish at Keeneland in October and was followed up with a second-place run at Churchill Downs in November.

The Malibu Farm-bred filly is campaigned by Maggi Moss and David Ingordo. She was most recently a $67,000 purchase by Sami and Reggie Racing from the Eisaman Equine consignment at the 2022 Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

The field is completed by Jason Barkley trainee Forest Chimes , Wing and A Prayer Racing's Hayunevano , and the Sharp Azteca   filly Cotton Candy Annie .

Entries: Silverbulletday S. presented by Fasig-Tipton

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, January 21, 2023, Race 12

• STK
• 1m 70y
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 3 yo Fillies
• 5:30 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Norah G (LA)	Deshawn L. Parker	122	Patricia G. West	8/1
2	2Cotton Candy Annie (KY)	Mitchell Murrill	122	Armando Hernandez	20/1
3	3Hayunevano (KY)	Marcelino Pedroza, Jr.	122	Sam B. David, Jr.	8/1
4	4The Alys Look (KY)	Luis Saez	122	Brad H. Cox	3/1
5	5Chop Chop (KY)	Florent Geroux	122	Brad H. Cox	8/5
6	6Amber Cascade (KY)	David Cohen	122	Cherie DeVaux	6/1
7	7Forest Chimes (KY)	Corey J. Lanerie	122	Jason Barkley	4/1