Romagna Mia Clears Rivals Late in Dowager
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Photo: Coady Photography/John Gallagher
Romagna Mia wins Dowager Stakes at Keeneland
Romagna Mia (GB) made the most of her North American opportunities with a late running score in the Oct. 22 $300,000 Dowager Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland.
Campaigned by Team Valor and trainer Graham Motion, the daughter of Mastercraftsman had previously collected grade 1 black-type in her North American debut, running third to recent E.P. Taylor (G1T) heroine Fev Rover in the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) at Colonial Downs.
The filly was positioned in sixth of seven early under jockey John Velazquez as Henrietta Topham and Transient carved out splits of :24.45, :48.78, and 1:13.99 over the firm turf course. Advancing four-wide down the backstretch, Romagna Mia, under steady pressure from Velazquez, found her best stride in mid-stretch and rolled by the field to score by three lengths.
Four-year-old Romagna Mia paid ($6.76), the 2-1 favorite at post time, in a final time of 2:29.87.
Transient held on for runner-up honors by a head over a hard-charging Love Reiko.
A group 2 winner in Italy, Romagna Mia improved her bankroll to $363,304.
Motion is no stranger to the Dowager, having won the race three times before Romagna Mia with Blame Debbie (2021), Kitten's Point (2015), and Humaita (GER) (2004).
What They Said
"(Owner) Barry (Irwin of Team Valor International) kept telling me, ‘She stays all day. She stays all day.’ So I just had that in my head... When she came to the three-sixteenths (pole), she straightened and she went on and ran away from the horses.” - John Velazquez