Meet-leading trainer Brendan Walsh entered three in Keeneland's $350,000 Dowager Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares going 1 1/2 miles on the grass Oct. 19. Walsh, who topped the trainer standings with eight wins at the fall meet through Oct. 17, has entered Spanish Eyes, Venencia, and Bless My Stars.
The 4-1 second choice on the morning line, Spanish Eyes is still in search of her first victory against winners and is coming off a ninth-place finish in the Ladies Marathon Invitational Stakes (G3T) at Kentucky Downs. The daughter of Zarak will be making her fifth start in North America after making her first five starts in Germany.
Purchased for $1,373,763 at last year's Arqana Vente d'Elevage by David Redvers Bloodstock, she debuted for her new owners, Qatar Racing and Michaela Faust, with a fourth-place finish in a Churchill Downs allowance in May. She then finished runner-up in both the July 5 Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (G3T) and Aug. 9 Beverly D. Stakes (G2T) prior to her Kentucky Downs run.
Venencia is likewise seeking a win after a string of losses following her Forever Together Stakes victory in November 2024. She is stretching out to 1 1/2 miles for the first time after a fourth-place finish against males last out in the Singspiel Stakes (G3T) at Woodbine going 1 3/8 miles.
Gary Barber and Team Valor International's South African group 1 winner Bless My Stars makes her first start since finishing sixth in the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes (G2T) in January. It was her second sixth-place finish in as many starts since being imported in 2024. Previously trained by Todd Pletcher, this will be her first start with Walsh.
Joe Sharp's duo of morning-line favorite Vive Veuve and Repole Stable's Miwa, and Michael McCarthy's Duvet Day head the competition. Carl R. Moore Management's Vive Veuve finished second over the course and distance in an allowance optional claimer in April and earned two allowance wins at 1 1/16 miles over the summer. Miwa, another graduate of the 2024 Vente d'Elevage, finished third last out in the Ladies Marathon. Duvet Day finished a length further back in fourth in that event.
Adding some Midwest flavor to the race is Xtreme Racing Stables' Minnesota-bred Cupids Crush. Racing primarily at Canterbury Park, the Hugh Robertson trainee has won or placed in 19 of her 23 starts and is coming off a 10 3/4-length win in a state-bred stakes Sept. 6 at Canterbury. While she did win on the grass at Keeneland last October, she faces a big step up in class and distance in the Dowager in her first graded appearance and first start beyond 1 1/16 miles.
