Fair Grounds: Beckman Readies Two for Silverbulletday

By Kevin Kilroy —-

Simply Joking; Hodges Photography
Beckman Readies Two for Silverbulletday

New Orleans, La (Jan. 15, 2025) – Four weeks ago on “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day” at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, trainer Whit Beckman swept the pair of 2-year-old fillies stakes, stretching out Her Laugh to victory in the Untapable and unveiling the talented Simply Joking who won the Letellier. With 42 Oaks qualifying points up for grabs this Saturday on “Road to the Derby Day,” Beckman will saddle two in the 1 mile 70 yards $150,0000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday, including the 3-1 morning line favorite Simply Joking who is untested at two turns.

While Her Laugh will wait for another chance to add to the 10 points she secured in the Untapabale, the other Beckman trainee from that Oaks prep, Drexel Hill, is set to march back to the starting gates in the Silverbulletday, this time wearing blinkers.

When making her debut in the Letellier, Grantley Acres, Ryan Conner, and Berkels0813’s Simply Joking overcame an awkward start and being steadied on the backstretch to gamely run down the front-running post-time favorite, Whata Moon.

“She only had six furlongs to overcome a pretty bad trip,” Beckman said. “She just had to react and then go, and she overcame all of it. After all that, going 1 mile and 70 yards would seemingly make it easier if we do run into a little adversity (in the Silverbulletday). I don’t know if I learned anything about her from that race, it just confirmed what we had been seeing–she is a really nice filly.”

With only the 6-furlong Letellier under her belt, the Pennsylvania-bred by Practical Joke out of the E Dubai mare Imply still must prove she can get two turns. The ultimate question for any filly on the Road to the Oaks is whether she can get 1 1/8 miles.

“Practical Joke was probably best at one mile,” Beckman said. “But he has that Distorted Humor cross in there so with that and the E Dubai influence, I see her as a mile and an eighth, two-turn horse.”

Aboard for her debut, Axel Concepcion will guide Simply Joking from post 3. Immediately to her outside, Legion Racing’s Drexel Hill will break from post 4 with a new pilot, Ben Curtis.

Drexel Hill earned 1 Oaks point running fifth in the Untapable. Soon after the wire, she was in second. It was her first start on the dirt after four starts over the synthetic at Woodbine, and though she was able to save ground, the Bolt d’Oro filly fought her jockey Jamie Torres when he tried to get her off the rail and out of the traffic jam in front of her down the homestretch.

“If you watch the race, when she finally got room to run she closed a ton of ground,” Beckman said. “I’m hopeful she is going to show a lot better this go around. She’s done nothing wrong since we’ve added (blinkers). She’s gotten a lot more comfortable and focused. Her training has always been solid, that’s why I didn’t see anything prior to the last start, we had to figure that out in the race with the first start on dirt. Whatever shook her (in the Untapable), I think the blinkers have ironed that out.”

The 33rd running of the Silverbulletday attracted a field of eight talented 3-year-old fillies. As part of the Road to the Kentucky Oaks Prep Season, the Silverbulletday will award qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. Scheduled as Race 9 of 12, it is one of six stakes slated for the “Road to the Derby Day” card, including the $250,000 Lecomte (G3), which will award 20-10-6-4-2 points for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). First post on Saturday is noon CT.

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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, La, Fair Grounds, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 153rd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 22, 2024 through March 23, 2025. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.