Between them, they had won four Eclipse Awards in the last four years. Spendthrift Farm's Beholder (Henny Hughes), winner of statuettes in 2012, 2013 and again in 2015, and Hronis Racing's Stellar Wind (Curlin), last year's champion 3-year-old filly courtesy of a win in the GI Santa Anita Oaks and a tough-luck runner-up effort in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. The two never crossed paths in 2015, but their careers had converged twice this term. Beholder took round one with a fairly soft 1 1/2-length success in the GI Vanity Mile S. June 4, but Stellar Wind evened the score with a hard-fought, half-length decision when last seen in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar July 30. Coming into Saturday's GI Zenyatta S. fresh off that effort at the seaside, Stellar Wind endured a three-wide trip chasing Beholder, but took it to the three-time defending Zenyatta champ three furlongs from home and grinded out a head victory, the third Grade I of the afternoon for Victor Espinoza.
Saturday, Santa Anita Park
ZENYATTA S.-GI, $300,000, SA, 10-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:41.80, ft.
1–STELLAR WIND, 125, f, 4, by Curlin">Curlin
1st Dam: Evening Star, by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: Sequins, by Northern Fashion
3rd Dam: Brilliant Touch, by Gleaming
($40,000 Ylg '13 FTSAUG; $86,000 Ylg '13 EASSEP).
O-Hronis Racing LLC; B-Keswick Stables & Stonestreet
Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (VA); T-John W. Sadler; J-Victor
Espinoza. $180,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 3yo Filly, 11-7-2-1,
$1,353,200. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
2–Beholder, 125, m, 6, Henny Hughes–Leslie's Lady, by Tricky
Creek. ($180,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP). O-Spendthrift Farm LLC;
B-Clarkland Farm (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $60,000.
[bullet ad=”woodford-winning”][bullet ad=”clarkland-bredraisedsold”]
3–Vale Dori (Arg), 121, f, 4, Asiatic Boy (Arg)–Valerina (Arg), by
Halo Sunshine. O-Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum;
B-Abolengo (ARG); T-Bob Baffert. $36,000.
[bullet ad=”irt-shell”]Margins: NK, 11 3/4, HF. Odds: 2.00, 0.40, 9.80.
Also Ran: Tara's Tango, Off the Road (Brz). Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
An unlucky fourth in the 2015 GI Kentucky Oaks, Stellar Wind added the GII Summertime Oaks at this track and the GIII Torrey Pines S. at Del Mar ahead of her Distaff effort, in which she was carried very wide and rallied gamely to miss by a neck. Brought along slowly at four with a second-half focus, the chestnut spotted Beholder a recency edge when going down in the Vanity, but the Virginia-bred stripped fitter for their next battle in the Hirsch and managed to turn the tables.
Bounced away from gate two by Gary Stevens, Beholder made an easy lead, and floated Tara's Tango (Unbridled's Song) and Stellar Wind into the three and four path, respectively, rounding the first turn before settling back down on the fence. Given no breather up front through a half-mile in :46.23, Beholder led by a little less than a length as they hit the far turn and came under a bit of a ride as Stellar Wind began to turn up the pressure, even if she, too, was being encouraged by Espinoza. The duo hit the quarter pole in unison and their struggle continued stride-for-stride into the final furlong, Beholder hand-ridden by Stevens, but in a virtual carbon copy of their war at the shore, Stellar Wind fought her way past and was driven out to score by a slim margin while covering 39 feet (about four lengths) further than Beholder, according to Trakus data.
“She ran so well last time, I thought this race would be very similar to what it was–another battle, and we were lucky enough to prevail a second time,” commented winning trainer John Sadler. “We thought she'd be a better 4-year-old. These mares peak at four and she's a bigger, stronger horse this year. She's relatively fresh and we get to go into the Breeders' Cup off of three starts. We're looking forward to it.”
Team Beholder was bemoaning the short field and intend to press on to the Distaff.
“Nothing really went wrong, except I was on the lead and a sitting duck once again,” said Stevens. “No pace except for me, and realistic fractions. I flat got out-run. I have no excuses. Hopefully we can bounce back and get some pace in the Breeders' Cup, or the stars will change. Hat's off to the winner.”
Pedigree Notes:
Stellar Wind is out of a half-sister to MSW & GSP Im Out First (Allen's Prospect), the dam of MSW & GSP Im a Dixie Girl (Dixie Union), SW First Ascent and SW & GSP Zenith (Roy), whose son Great Hunter (Aptitude) won the GI Breeders' Futurity in 2016. Stellar Wind's 2-year-old half-brotherBozeman (Birdstone) was a $190,000 purchase by Bo Bromagen, agent, out of the 2015 Keeneland September sale. Evening Star was most recently bred to Curlin.
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