Star of Mystery, Roses for Debra to Battle in Franklin

As autumn arrives, stakes restricted to 3-year-olds diminish in North American racing, leading to more frequent stakes clashes between sophomores and older horses.

One such matchup occurs Oct. 13 when Keeneland stages the $350,000 Franklin Stakes (G2T) at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf. Five of the 12 fillies and mares in the body of the overflow field are 3-year-olds, among them Godolphin's Star of Mystery , who defeated males in the July 14 Quick Call Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course in her last appearance. 

If she is to repeat Sunday, she will have to defeat a quality cast of older fillies and mares, led by John O'Meara and Cheyenne Stable's Roses for Debra , who set a track record at Presque Isle Downs in edging fellow Franklin Stakes starter (and 3-year-old) Pandora's Gift  in the 6 1/2-furlong Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2) in 1:13.92 on Tapeta, a synthetic surface.

Older horses carry 3 pounds more than their younger counterparts in the Franklin, which is run under allowance conditions that provide for further weight adjustments. Roses for Debra, with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, carries 123 pounds, compared to 122 for Star of Mystery with Flavien Prat in the saddle. Four-year-old Future Is Now , a three-time stakes winner this year, carries a race-high 125 and has Paco Lopez aboard.

Star of Mystery, trained by Charlie Appleby, already has experience against older horses and has faced males. Sunday's race marks her first meeting against only females in seven starts this year. In January, she defeated a field that included older males in Dubai in taking the Blue Point Sprint (G2T) at Meydan Racecourse. She later became group 1-placed there when second in the March 30 Al Quoz Sprint (G1T) on Dubai World Cup Night to Hong Kong star California Spangle .

Her two starts in the United States resulted in a third in the June 8 Jaipur Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga, which was run in a North American record time of :59.80 for 5 1/2 furlongs, and her most recent victory in the Quick Call when she rallied to prevail by a length and a half.

The bay homebred daughter of Kodiac  breaks from the inside post and is likely to be favored.

Two spots to her outside is the gray and/or roan Roses for Debra, a 5-year-old Liam's Map   mare whose form is as good on turf as on synthetic. Unlike Star of Mystery, she has raced at Keeneland, taking the Giant's Causeway Stakes (G3T) at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf in the spring for trainer Christophe Clement.

Clement also has graded stakes-winning 4-year-old Dontlookbackatall  in the Franklin.

British shipper Frost At Dawn  is another contender, with her best effort coming when she defeated Star of Mystery in Dubai in the March 2 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint (G3T) at Meydan. The William Knight trainee has lost her last three races, though two were in group 1s.

"We didn't qualify for the Breeders' (Cup) in Europe, so we decided to try here," said Michelle Gross, who is overseeing the 3-year-old filly's preparation for Knight.

Though the Franklin is not part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, it is positioned with adequate spacing to propel a participant toward the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Del Mar.

According to Keeneland, she is the first European shipper to race in the Franklin, which has its 28th running on Sunday.