Florent Geroux can seemingly do no wrong these days in big spots, and the 29-year-old Frenchman put another one of his patented perfectly judged rides on Sarah Sis here to pull off the upset. Geroux had only piloted the dark bay once before–when she annexed a local allowance by daylight some 371 days ago. She went to the sidelines after that, and reemerged to finish second in a pair of Oaklawn stakes in January before breaking through in that venue's GIII Honeybee S. in March. Fifth in the GIII Fantasy S. a month later, she was pulled up and vanned off in the GI Kentucky Oaks May 1, but was only treated for minor exhaustion afterward. She bounced right back to take the Panthers S. at Prairie Meadows just 29 days after the Oaks, and got her nose down in time to take the GIII Iowa Oaks June 27. Fourth against her elders after showing the way in Saratoga's GI Ballerina S. Aug. 29, Sarah Sis was last seen checking in sixth of six in the Sept. 29 GIII Charles Town Oaks over a track that many horses either love or hate.
Sarah Sis appeared on paper to be the most likely pacesetter, but Geroux was content to allow headstrong race favorite Bar of Gold to show the way through splits of :23.23 and :46.37. Given her cue under left-handed encouragement at the head of the lane, she ground down the favorite to best that rival snugly with longshot I'm a Looker rallying strongly to fill out the trifecta.
“Someone else wanted to go and was able to set very reasonable fractions,” Geroux offered. “I was able to sit [off the pace] and my filly was very relaxed where she was. Down the stretch when I asked her, she gave everything she's got. She was very brave. She did the rest.”
He added, “She was spinning her wheels a little bit at the quarter pole, but when she found her stride she was going away. That's a very nice, very talented filly. She won a race last year here at Keeneland, an allowance race, and she beat Lovely Maria (Majesticperfection), who ended up winning the [Kentucky] Oaks, so we knew she could handle it here.”
Winning trainer Ingrid Mason said, “She's run some brilliant races and has come from off the pace in the past. We all knew she had it, and that's why I hire jockeys to make that decision out of the gate: If she was going on her own easy, then go on with it. If not, sit on her. She obviously can come from off the pace.”
Mason said Sarah Sis would now have a 30-day break.
Saturday, Keeneland
LEXUS RAVEN RUN S.-GII, $250,000, KEE, 10-17, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:22.96, ft.
1–SARAH SIS, 120, f, 3, by Sharp Humor
1st Dam: Emerald Gal, by Gilded Time
2nd Dam: Wancha Back, by End Sweep
3rd Dam: Wancha, by Transworld
($10,000 Ylg '13 KEESEP; $20,000 2yo '14 OBSOPN). O-Joe
Ragsdale; B-Catherine Rene White (KY); T-Ingrid Mason;
J-Florent Geroux. $150,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 13-6-3-0,
$566,400. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”bluewater-dam-keenov15-hip1411″][bullet ad=”bluewater-half-sis-keenov15-hip1412″][bullet ad=”machmer-hall-agent-for-dam-purchase-to-mauk-one”][bullet ad=”mauk-one-farm-congratulations-to-ingrid-and-joe”][bullet ad=”bluewater-shell-big-fish”][bullet ad=”kbif-g2g3″][bullet ad=”hip116-ftknov15″]
2–Bar of Gold, 118, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Khancord Kid, by
Lemon Drop Kid. O/B-Chester & Mary R. Broman (NY); T-John
C. Kimmel. $50,000.[bullet ad=”nytb-ny-bred-why-breed-anywhere-else”][bullet ad=”sequel-bloodstock-grad”]
3–I'm a Looker, 118, f, 3, Henny Hughes–Our Mariella, by
Victory Gallop. ($4,500 Ylg '13 FTKFEB). O-Glenmare Farm LLC;
B-Emilie Gerlinde Fojan & Bona Terra Stud LLC (KY); T-Patrick J.
Dupuy. $25,000.[bullet ad=”bluewater-half-sis-ftkoct15-hip749″]
Margins: HF, NO, NK. Odds: 17.00, 1.50, 42.70.
Also Ran: Kathballu, Forever Unbridled, Irish Jasper, Chide, Ahh Chocolate, Paid Up Subscriber, Miss Ella. Scratched: Wind Chill Factor. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. ThoroStride.com video.
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