Inimitable Romanee tries to get back to form in Dowager
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Some races at Keeneland this fall have been contested by rather short fields, most notably in lower-end races on the new dirt surface. As for stakes races on either surface, however, they’ve held sway as bright spots.
That point will be hammered home again Sunday when a big field of filly and mare turf marathoners clashes in the $125,000 Dowager Stakes, the 16th of 17 stakes at the meet.
With 16 horses on the program, the turf-course limit of 14 starters might have to be invoked when the Dowager is run at 1 1/2 miles around three turns as the eighth of nine Sunday races. There is no clear-cut favorite in this highly contentious renewal, with Appealing Cat, Topic, Inimitable Romanee, Caroline Thomas, and White Rose all likely to attract their fair share of tote action.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Appealing Cat and No. 10 Inimitable Romanee. Trainer Graham Motion is 39-10-5-4 with a $4.63 ROI over the past two years in turf routes of 12 furlongs and longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
:: Learn more about Formulator | Buy Formulator PPs
:: Follow the @DRFFormulator Twitter feed and get free Formulator facts
This is the 23rd running of the Dowager, which is sponsored by the Rood & Riddle equine clinic. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with the Dowager set for 4:42. Two allowances (races 5 and 7) also are on tap.
After Sunday, the final four-day stretch of the 17-day fall meet begins Wednesday. Closing day is Oct. 25, with live action moving the following afternoon to Churchill Downs.
Key contenders
Appealing Cat (Last 3 Beyers: 81-87-64)
* Pennsylvania-bred carries Rosie Napravnik and the green-and-white silks of Augustin Stable, the same combination that Holiday Star carried Thursday in winning the male counterpart to this, the Grade 3 Sycamore.
* The mare enters in peak form after capturing a restricted stakes at Parx in her latest.
Inimitable Romanee (Last 3 Beyers: 74-74-93)
* Clearly, a repeat of those last two clunkers will not do here, but this gray mare obviously has little to prove, with three Grade 3 stakes victories from her last six starts.
* Trainer Graham Motion is enjoying another big Keeneland meet after winning three straight races here Thursday, capped by the Sycamore with Holiday Star.
Caroline Thomas (Last 3 Beyers: 94-91-92)
* A hard-charging third in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth here last fall, this Giant’s Causeway filly seems a natural for this marathon distance.
* She has regularly faced some of the better filly and mare turfers on the East Coast and certainly belongs with these.
White Rose (Last 3 Beyers: 82-76-92)
* This aptly named nearly white filly has come to hand in recent months for the same connections who will run Cigar Street in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Her latest stakes victory over the grueling Kentucky Downs course surely has her fit for this demanding journey.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 14 White Rose. Trainer Bill Mott is 17-2-2-4 with a $0.58 ROI over the past five years in turf routes of 12 furlongs and longer with last-out winners. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
Frivolous (Last 3 Beyers: 87-87-78)
* Scratched from an easier off-the-turf allowance earlier in the week, this G. Watts Humphrey Jr. homebred is an unknown at this longer distance but seems worth a close look, given her recency and spot of class. She’s one of a handful of viable longshots in this race.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 12 I O Ireland. Trainer Chris Block is 30-5-6-5 with a $5.15 ROI over the past five years in turf routes of 12 furlongs and longer. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan