Photo:

Candice Chavez / Eclipse Sportswire

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.

Click here for Keeneland entries and results.

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.