Fast track or wet track, Simply Joking remains serious about winning races at the Fair Grounds.
The 3-year-old filly was first out of the gate and stayed in front all the way around a sloppy and sealed track for a 2 1/2-length victory over Bless the Broken in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes on Saturday.
Trained by Whit Beckman, Simply Joking earned 20 qualifying points on the road to the Kentucky Oaks (G1), with the next four finishers picking up 10-6-4-2 points on a sliding scale.
In her debut, Simply Joking won the Letellier Memorial Stakes by a neck on Dec. 21 at the Fair Grounds over a fast track.
Ridden by Jaime Torres, Simply Joking, a Pennsylvania-bred, covered the 1-mile, 70-yard Silverbulletday in 1:44.30. The 8-5 favorite in the field of six returned $5.40 on a $2 win bet.
Drexel Hill was third, followed by Chasten, Golden Gamble, and She’s a Swede. California Sunset and Gowells Delight were scratched.
"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.”
Later on the card that saw all four turf races moved to the dirt due to the rain, favorite Disco Time edged Built by a neck in the Lecomte Stakes (G3), a Kentucky Derby (G1) prep awarding 20-10-6-4-2 points to the first five finishers.
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