CTT and TOC Stakes good fit for Siberian Iris
The 6-year-old mare Siberian Iris was a game second against males in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita, a start grounded as much in sentiment as an opportunity to run her in a distance turf race.
“I was very happy with her San Juan Capistrano,” trainer Richard Mandella said Friday. “That is one of my favorite races, and it was fun to try.”
The San Juan Capistrano has a rich history, stretching over several decades. The $70,000 CTT and TOC Stakes for fillies and mares at Del Mar at 1 3/8 miles on turf Sunday is not held in the same regard, but it works well for Siberian Iris.
Last year, Siberian Iris won the CTT and TOC Stakes, her lone win in five starts that season. She has yet to win this year, but is expected to be favored Sunday. Earlier this year, Siberian Iris was third in the Grade 3 Astra Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Santa Anita in January and last of 10 in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at 1 1/8 miles there in May.
The CTT and TOC Stakes will be her fourth start of the year and first at Del Mar since the 2019 CTT and TOC Stakes. Owned by Calumet Farm, Siberian Iris was a late scratch from the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap for fillies and mares at Del Mar last December, but raced a month later.
“She likes the distance,” Mandella said. “The mile and three-eighths is good for her.”
Mandella described Siberian Iris’s condition as “very good.”
The CTT and TOC Stakes drew a field of 10, including Ms Peintour, who has not started since a win in the Astra Stakes in January, her first win in a distance race on turf. Pretty Point was third in two turf stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita’s winter-spring meeting – the Grade 1 American Oaks last December and the Possibly Perfect Stakes in June.
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The field also includes Over Thinking, who was second to Siberian Iris in the 2019 CTT and TOC Stakes. Trained in Kentucky by Victoria Oliver, Over Thinking was fourth in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on dirt July 11. A 5-year-old, Over Thinking has yet to win a stakes.
Pretty Point, trained by Paddy Gallagher, won a first-condition optional claimer at 1 3/8 miles on turf on July 25 at Del Mar as a prep for Sunday’s race. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith rode Pretty Point in her last two starts and has the mount Sunday.
Off her last-out victory, trainer Paddy Gallagher thinks Pretty Point can be a contender in the CTT and TOC Stakes.
“She seems happy and well,” Gallagher said. “This is what we’ve been waiting for. She seems to love the distance.”