Simply Joking went to the lead at the start and never was headed while posting a 2 1/2-length victory in the $145,500 Silverbulletday Stakes Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
The 3-year-old filly by Practical Joke earned 20 points toward qualifying for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (G1) with the win. Trained by Whitworth Beckman for owners Grantley Acres, Ryan Conner, and Berkels0813, Simply Joking entered the Silverbulletday off a debut win in the Letellier Memorial Stakes Dec. 21 at Fair Grounds.
Stretching out to a mile and 70 yards off the six-furlong Letellier, returning rider Jaime Torres went straight to the lead through a first quarter in :23.70 and a half-mile in :47.53. Stablemate Drexel Hill, owned by Legion Racing, was her closest pursuer as the regally bred Juddmonte homebred Chasten sat third on the rail early while under a hold from rider Florent Geroux.
Simply Joking was in control all the way, although she did flip leads inside the final sixteenth and ducked outward under a left-handed whip from Torres as she approached the wire. Her final time over the sloppy, sealed dirt track was 1:44.30. Simply Joking paid $5.40 to win as the favorite.
"I was very comfortable on her, the way she was traveling the track," Torres said. "She did everything herself. She was a little bit green at the end waiting on company but she was much the best. We thought she'd get better going two turns."
Cypress Creek Equine's Bless the Broken, trained by William Walden, rallied from last in the field of six to finish second, a neck ahead of Drexel Hill in third.
Chasten, the half sister to 2023 champion older dirt female Idiomatic, was stretching out from a seven-furlong debut win Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs. The Brad Cox trainee had good position but came up empty in the lane and finished fourth.
"It was a good trip. I was following the winner," Geroux said. "I feel like the lack of experience got her. It wasn't the (sloppy) track. It was a bit disappointing, but I think this filly needs another race or two to get to where she's capable of going."
Golden Gamble finished fifth. The top five finishers in the Silverbulletday earned Oaks points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale.
Simply Joking was bred in Pennsylvania by Barlar. She is the second registered foal out of the seven-time Pennsylvania stakes-winning E Dubai mare Imply. Imply's first foal, Drum Roll Please, by Hard Spun , finished third in the 2023 Remsen Stakes (G2) and won the 2024 Jerome Stakes. Grantley Acres purchased Simply Joking for $65,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Ballysax Bloodstock consignment.
Beckman and Grantley Acres are responsible for the winners of both Oaks preps run at this Fair Grounds meet, as Her Laugh took the Untapable Stakes Dec. 21.
"We've still got a lot of ground between here and (the Kentucky Oaks)," Beckman said. "We're giving them each challenges and they're accepting every one. We'll see how it all falls and see (whether Simply Joking or Her Laugh) is better suited for the Rachel Alexandra."
