Second-time starters look to earn Oaks points in Silverbulletday, Busanda

Jan 13, 2025 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

What could be the start of a good seven days for trainer Kenny McPeek begins on Saturday when he saddles two prime contenders in the $150,000 Silverbulletday S. at Fair Grounds.

The Silverbulletday, along with Saturday's $125,000 Busanda S. at Aqueduct, are Road to the Kentucky Oaks events that will award qualifying points of 10-5-3-2-1 to the respective top five finishers in each race.

McPeek won last year's Oaks with Thorpedo Anna, a lock to be named champion three-year-old filly and favored to also win Horse of the Year honors at the Eclipse Awards ceremony on Jan. 23. McPeek himself is also a finalist in the champion trainer category.

McPeek saddles three in the Silverbulletday, which will be contested over one mile and 70 yards. Golden Gamble is the most accomplished of the trio by virtue of her second-place effort in the Dec. 21 Untapable S. at Fair Grounds. Golden Gamble was favored in that race, but lone speed Her Laugh dominated throughout. She's a Swede, meanwhile, steps up in class following a maiden win late last month in her third start.

But it is McPeek's other entry, Gowells Delight, who might be more of a threat in the Silverbulletday. The daughter of Practical Joke debuted Dec. 26 going 1 1/16 miles and won for fun, scoring by 5 1/2 lengths after stalking the pace.

Two other second-time starters will bear watching. Simply Joking, also by Practical Joke, was ambitiously placed in the Dec. 21 Leteller Memorial for her debut but proved ready to run when taking the six-furlong dash by a neck for trainer Whit Beckman.

Chasten, a Juddmonte homebred and younger half-sister to champion mare Idiomatic, also won at first asking, taking a seven-furlong Churchill Downs maiden by 1 1/2 lengths on Nov. 30. The step-up in distance shouldn't prove an issue for the Brad Cox trainee.

Cox also saddles California Sunset, a non-threatening third in the Untapable but victor over Golden Gamble two back in a maiden event at Churchill. The field is rounded out by Drexel Hill and Bless the Broken, unplaced in the Untapable and Demoiselle (G2) in their respective last outings.

The Busanda, contested at 1 1/8 miles, also looks like a potentially winnable spot for a pair of second-time starters. Juddmonte homebred Ramify stretches out after winning a one-mile maiden at Aqueduct in early December for Chad Brown, while the Todd Pletcher-trained Ruth ships north following her career-opening victory over next-out graduate Queen in the Deck at Gulfstream on Dec. 13.

The field of nine also includes recent maiden winners Sharp Smile and Running Away from the barns of Cox and Wesley Ward, respectively.

The Busanda has a scheduled post time of 3:39 p.m. ET, while the Silverbulletday's scheduled post is 5 p.m. ET. Both races can be watched and wagered on at TwinSpires.com.