Taking to the racecourse amidst a summer rainstorm, Chop Chop gamely outbattled Towhead in a long drive to the finish line and won the $500,000 Aristocrat Gaming Juvenile Fillies Stakes by a nose Saturday at Kentucky Downs.
Ridden by Reylu Gutierrez for trainer Brad Cox, Chop Chop was unfazed by the inclement weather and covered the one-mile event over a yielding turf course in 1:1:43.86.
Gutierrez had Chop Chop ideally positioned in third as pacesetters Towhead and C C Cruise Control dueled through the first half mile. C C Cruise Control tamely yielded when Towhead knuckled down and thrust her head in front through six furlongs in 1:16.82 but Gutierrez had Chop Chop ready to roll and she came to within a head of the leader. The two battled through the stretch, but Chop Chop had stamina to spare and got the job done. She returned $10.22.
C C Cruise Control faded to third, nine lengths behind Towhead. Favorite Callie's Grit was never a threat and finished last in the field of eight.
A daughter of City of Light campaigned by Selective LLC, Chop Chop earned her first stakes win and is perfect in two career starts following her debut victory August 12 at Ellis Park. She is the first stakes winner for her sire, a four-time Grade 1 winner who stands at Lane's End in Versailles, Kentucky.
Bred in Kentucky by Cobra Farm and MRJ Thoroughbreds, Chop Chop was produced by the unraced Giant's Causeway mare Giant Sofia. She was $230,000 purchase by Selective/Cary Bloodstock, agent, from the Bluewater Sales consignment at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Selected Yearlings Sale.
With the $300,000 winner's share of the Juvenile Fillies purse, Chop Chop's lifetime bankroll increased to $336,700.
Kentucky Downs canceled the card after the Juvenile Fillies Stakes because of the bad weather. The races canceled include the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile and the WinStar Mint Million Stakes. The latter will be run on Sept. 10, with the Juvenile Mile rescheduled for Sept. 14.
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