Siberian Iris stands out in Dowager

LEXINGTON, Ky. – You’d think Siberian Iris would be getting tested by some of the best filly-mare turf marathoners in Kentucky when she represents her home California circuit in the Dowager Stakes.

Thing is, the local ranks have thinned to such a substantial degree that Siberian Iris looks like a standout in the Grade 3, $125,000 Dowager, a 1 1/2-mile turf fixture serving as the Sunday feature at Keeneland.

With Florent Geroux riding for Calumet Farm and Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, Siberian Iris has defaulted into the favorite’s role in the Dowager not necessarily because of what she’s done, but what her five opponents haven’t. None of the six is a graded winner over turf, and the superior Beyer Speed Figures that Siberian Iris has tallied in recent outings would seem to trump all else.

Mandella said that Jack Sisterson, who trains locally for Calumet, has been overseeing the day-to-day training of Siberian Iris since the 6-year-old mare ventured east ahead of a fifth-place finish in the Sept. 15 TVG at Kentucky Downs.

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“Jack has sent me video and everything, and from all indications she’s doing just great,” Mandella said from California. “She’s settled in really well there.”

Siberian Iris hasn’t won in 14 months, when she rallied from far back to capture an ungraded stakes going 1 3/8 miles on the Del Mar turf, but her Beyers from six starts in the interim have been solid, ending with an 88 in the TVG. A confirmed come-from-behinder, she’ll probably need to stay within shouting distance of the lead in a race lacking much pace. Always Shopping (post 4, Tyler Gaffalione), in off shorter races in Florida for Todd Pletcher, could inherit the top amid a dearth of early speed.

Other contenders include Blame Debbie (post 2, Manny Franco), a last-out winner of a first-level allowance, and Over Thinking (post 3, Rafael Bejarano), who actually finished ahead of Siberian Iris in an August meeting at Del Mar.

Blame Debbie, the only 3-year-old in the field, is trained by Graham Motion, a two-time winner of the Dowager with Humaita (2004) and Kitten’s Point (2015).

Outsiders in the compact lineup are With Dignity and Naomi Broadway.

With Dignity is trained by Ian Wilkes, who won this race last year with Gentle Ruler, who was retired following a victory in the Dick Memorial at Delaware Park in July. It’s the absence of horses such as Gentle Ruler and English Affair, another Calumet 6-year-old who has been effective in this niche, helping to make this one of the lighter renewals of the Dowager in recent years. Trainer Rusty Arnold said English Affair “wasn’t quite ready” for the Dowager and won’t make her next start until the Nov. 26 Cardinal at Churchill Downs.

The Dowager is the last of 18 stakes at the Keeneland fall meet. It goes as the eighth of nine races on a Sunday card that starts at 1:05 p.m. Eastern, with post time for the feature set for 4:57. An earlier turf route (race 5) is the only allowance on the undercard. Mostly sunny skies and a high of 64 are in the forecast.

After Sunday, Keeneland goes dark for two days before the final four-day stretch of the meet runs Wednesday through Saturday.