2023 Silverbulletday Stakes Cheatsheet

By TwinSpires Editorial Team, Sponsored Content

By Vance Hanson (TwinSpires.com)

1. NORAH G (8-1) – Hot barn has a nice filly on their hands here, though there’s a big difference between what she’s been facing in the state-bred ranks and this open company spot; needed almost 1:15 to negotiate 6f in the Louisiana Futurity last time over a slow-playing track, and even there she wasn’t exactly as dominant as bettors thought she would be at odds of 3-10; class hike and inexperience around two turns appear significant hurdles.

2. COTTON CANDY ANNIE (20-1) – The most experienced member of the field with eight starts behind her, and thus the most exposed; spent much of her time in the maiden ranks facing lesser in auction restricted events before graduating for a $50K tag, and though she subsequently took advantage of a weak allowance group in the slop, her no-show in the Untapable S. probably sums up her relative talents; looking elsewhere.

3. HAYUNEVANO (8-1) – After poking her head in front after six furlongs in the Untapable, she readily gave way through the stretch and finished a well-beaten fourth in a strung out field; although not a huge step down from her wide-margin maiden win, it does raise doubts whether she is classy enough to turn in a more competitive effort; on the plus side, she’s had much more time in between starts; she barely had more than two weeks going into the Untapable, but has had nearly four in the interim.

4. THE ALYS LOOK (3-1) – After a couple modest tries in Kentucky last fall, she’s upped her game since arriving in New Orleans; pummeled maiden foes in her first attempt here Dec. 1 and then came back 3 1/2 weeks later to finish a creditable and clear second to Pretty Mischievous in the Untapable; that race wasn’t overly quick, figure-wise, but it does mark her as perhaps the main threat to stablemate Chop Chop.

5. CHOP CHOP (8-5) – Despite her no-show in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), she’s the filly to beat here; although both prior wins were on turf, she gave presumptive champion Wonder Where a big scare in the final strides of the Alcibiades (G1) two back, evidence she can handle dirt just as well as turf; Cox reportedly satisfied with her preparation for this and is going forward as if latest was an aberration; we’ll find out, but backers should expect significantly less than 8-5.

6. AMBER CASCADE (6-1) – Won the first division of a Dec. 31 maiden by nearly four lengths (returning rival Forest Chimes won the other even more convincingly); it was her first start around two turns and with Lasix, both of which might have helped, but she won’t have the benefit of the latter here; the downside is that it was her third start, and she had previously fallen short facing $50,000 maiden claimers; prefer others.

7. FOREST CHIMES (4-1) – Her debut on New Year’s eve at Fair Grounds couldn’t have gone any better; cold on the board at 13-1, she won off as if she were an odds-on favorite, crossing the wire 7 1/2 lengths clear of nine rivals; this is obviously a significant step up in class and a relatively short three-week turnaround, but this daughter of Tonalist seemingly has a lot of potential left to be tapped; consider.