Golden Gamble turned heads winning the second start of her career in a romp, blasting to a nine-length maiden score Nov. 23 at Churchill Downs, a performance in keeping with the filly’s morning training. “We fully expected that, and as a matter of fact, a lot of people expected that in her first race,” said Kenny McPeek, who trains Golden Gamble for Fern Circle Stables and Cypress Creek Equine. First time out, in an Oct. 27 maiden, Golden Gamble got into a world of trouble, finishing third. She showed last month what she can do with a clean trip, and if she gets another one, Golden Gamble stands a grand chance of capturing the $100,000 Untapable Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds. “We talked about waiting for the [Silverbulletday] in January, but she fits with this group, the timing is good, and if you have a chance to make a filly a stakes winner, you probably should take it,” McPeek said. Golden Gamble is one of eight 2-year-old fillies entered in the Untapable, a mile and 70-yard dirt race that’s the first local step toward the Fair Grounds Oaks. With Brian Hernandez Jr. named, she’s the 5-2 morning-line favorite, a reasonable price on a horse who flashed ample talent last month. Golden Gamble, by the late Laoban, stalked the pace in her Churchill route victory, jumping quickly on the leaders at the five-sixteenths pole when Hernandez asked his filly for more run. Golden Gamble struggled to change leads in upper stretch and wandered about before straightening out and going smoothly to the finish, galloping out some 20 lengths in front. “She’s kind of modest-sized but very efficient. We think she’s got a great chance,” McPeek said. Golden Gamble shows one timed workout since shipping to Fair Grounds, a five-furlong drill Dec. 14 in a very slow 1:05.20. McPeek’s Fair Grounds assistant, Greg Geier, said that in a crush of workers during a busy Saturday, clockers didn’t catch Golden Gamble and her workmate breaking off and that the filly turned in a faster breeze than officially recorded. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Trainer Whit Beckman likely runs two here, with Her Laugh an expected scratch from the six-furlong Letellier in favor of this two-turn contest. Her Laugh, by Practical Move, won her lone start, a Churchill sprint, with a sustained outside run off the turn to the wire, and Beckman sees her as a solid route prospect. Drexel Hill gets a look on dirt for Beckman after making four starts over Woodbine’s Tapeta main track for trainer Barbara Minshall. Stable Currency, Prima Bella, Amarth, and Paris Lily all have shown enough to merit at least a second glance, while California Sunset, as a Brad Cox-trained third-time starter, deserves greater attention than that. A second-start route maiden winner last month, California Sunset surprised her connections with a slow start in her debut, a one-turn mile. “We didn’t expect that at all, and she gave herself way too much to do. She was able to break last time and improved a good bit around two turns. We need a similar trip from her on Saturday,” Cox said. But should Golden Gamble run a race similar to her maiden win, it will take a considerable step forward from any of her rivals to defeat the Untapable favorite. Letellier Memorial Whata Moon won her debut in a Delta Downs maiden sprint as a 4-1 chance, yet the filly could go off a shorter price than that facing $100,000 stakes rivals in the Letellier Memorial. Whata Moon beat eight rivals first time out, drawing impressively clear after showing speed to win a five-furlong dash by 9 1/2 lengths. Kelvin Arana rode Whata Moon that night, notching the first win of his career. Saturday, Arana gives way to future Hall of Famer and leading Fair Grounds jockey Jose Ortiz. Whata Moon on Dec. 13 posted a bullet five-furlong gate drill at Fair Grounds. She’s 3-1 on the morning line, and with 9-5 morning-line favorite Her Laugh likely to be scratched in favor of the Untapable Stakes, Whata Moon could wind up the Letellier chalk. “I thought she’d win first out, but I didn’t quite expect what she did,” said Jayde Gelner, who trains Whata Moon for J.B. Simmons’s Simmons and Associates. “I think there was a lot more in the tank at the three-eighths pole. She had her ears pricked forward and was just out there cruising, doing it easily.” The six-furlong Letellier attracted two maidens, the twice-started Sycamore Shoals for trainer Brendan Walsh and first-time starter Simply Joking, trained, like Her Laugh, by Beckman. “I know it’s a little unorthodox going in this stake, but it’s a short field and we don’t give up too much in experience,” Beckman said. Beckman said Simply Joking has trained like a serious racehorse, and if a Delta maiden winner is the horse to beat in the Letellier, her win candidacy is no joke. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.