Keeneland: Machado atonement continues with Dowager win
Luan Machado continues to try and make good for racing to the wrong finish line in a race at Keeneland on Wednesday. For the second day in a row, he rode to a Grade 3 triumph.
Chop Chop hit the front at the top of the stretch and then held off a late bid from Forever After All to win by a nose in the 33rd running of the $300,000 Dowager Stakes for fillies and mares Sunday afternoon at Keeneland.
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Ridden by Machado and trained by Brad Cox for owner Selective, Chop Chop covered the 1 1/2 miles on firm turf in 2:29.00.
“She was pretty comfortable all the way around,” said Machado, who will serve a three-day suspension starting next Sunday because of his mistake in Wednesday’s finale. “She broke real good and got me in a perfect spot. She’s an old pro. She knows what to do. She knows when to go faster, and she actually did it on her own.”
Machado also was a winner Saturday when 28-1 long shot Brunacini finished first in the Perryville (G3).
The victory marked the fifth stakes win this fall for Cox, the most for any trainer during a Keeneland meet. The previous record for stakes wins by a trainer at a Keeneland meet was four. Six trainers share that mark, including D. Wayne Lukas, Mark Casse, Graham Motion, Ben Jones, Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown.
The victory was the second in two starts over the Keeneland turf for Chop Chop, who won the 1 1/2-mile Bewitch (G3) in April. She joined Upperline in 2012 and Kitten’s Point in 2015 as the only horses to win both races in the same year.
“I guess experimenting a little bit,” Cox said. “We nominated her to the race in April here at Keeneland (in the Bewitch) to see how it came up. We thought she had a shot, so we took a chance, and it opened up a lot of new avenues for her. I guess that’s the one thing I’ve learned from her. Sometimes when one’s not really moving forward or you think you’re out of options, try something new, and it worked out. She likes the marathon distances.”
Chop Chop was comfortable to race second just behind Surprisingly, who set fractions of 24.72, 49.94, 1:15.88 and 1:40.88. Chop Chop began to inch closer on the far turn and took the lead at the quarter pole.
Chop Chop had a daylight advantage by mid-stretch with the only challenge emerging from Forever After All, who received a ground-saving trip from Adam Beschizza. Forever After All had clear sailing along the rail after Surprisingly left an opening at the eighth pole and just ran out of ground.
A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of City of Light, Chop Chop is out of Giant’s Causeway mare Grand Sofia. The victory was worth $172,050 and increased Chop Chop’s earnings to $1,239,952 from a record of 20: 6-7-3.
Chop Chop paid $9.62, $5.10 and $3.72. Forever After All returned $12.88 and $7.56 and finished 2 1/2 lengths in front of Anatolian, who paid $10.56 to show under Ricardo Santana Jr.
It was another half-length back to Mrs. Astor with favored Neecie Marie, Cozee Rags, Duvet Day, Atomic Blonde, Surprisingly, Let’sbefrankbaby and Heart Spin following in order.