Margolis Saddles Pair in Silverbulletday

A year ago at this time, trainer Steve Margolis was juggling the campaigns of two talented 3-year-old colts, Winmore LLC’s Cool Bullet and Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Stay Put.

Cool Bullet had won the Sugar Bowl Stakes in the last month of his 2-year-old season and went on to run fourth in the Grade III Lecomte and win Turfway’s $50,000 Hansel Stakes prior to the Triple Crown races, and Stay Put ran fifth in the Grade II Risen Star, fifth in the Grade II Louisiana Derby and went on to be fifth once more in the Belmont Stakes.

This winter, Margolis has a pair of 3-year-old fillies – Right Time Racing’s Bouquet Booth and Gold Square’s Little Miss Holly – ready to run in Saturday’s $100,000 Silverbulletday Stakes, headline event for members of the distaff set on Saturday’s Road to the Derby Kickoff Day Presented by Hotel Monteleone.

As the first leg of Fair Grounds’ three-race sophomore filly series, the Silverbulletday Stakes will precede the Grade III Rachel Alexandra Stakes Feb. 19 and conclude with the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks on Louisiana Derby Day March 26, but Margolis was asked to evaluate Bouquet Booth and Little Miss Holly as they head into Saturday’s Silverbulletday.

“Bouquet Booth has been training really good coming into this race,” said Margolis of the daughter of 2005 Travers winner Flower Alley, who also went on to finish second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year.  “Obviously, at this point in time, she’s accomplished a little more (with her win in the Grade III Delta Princess in her last start Nov. 20.) She worked a bullet five-eighths here on New Year’s Eve in 59.80 and did the same time in her last work Jan. 15, so she should be ready for a good effort.

“The other filly (Little Miss Holly) just broke her maiden in her last start, but she did it impressively (by six lengths at Fair Grounds Dec. 9), but she’s run against some quality horses in the past and she has some pedigree to her. We’ve always had high hopes for her.”

Little Miss Holly, it should be noted, is a daughter of Maria’s Mon out of a Storm Cat mare and finished second by a nose to Adele Dilschneider’s Aide, the Silverbulletday morning line favorite, when Aide broke her maiden at Turfway Park last September. Little Miss Holly raced wide that day.