Beholder Outclasses Them in Clement Hirsch

Beholder | Benoit photo

The irrepressible Zenyatta won the race formerly known as the GI Lady's Secret S. in consecutive years between 2008 and 2010. Beholder, victorious in the same race–now named in honor of the near-perfect mare–in 2013 and 2014, could attempt to match the feat of Big Z, but, following a stirring success in Saturday's GI Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar, trainer Richard Mandella was thinking outside the box.

“We may take a look at the [GI] Pacific Classic [Aug. 22],” Mandella said. “It's been in the back of my mind a while. The timing is good. We're far enough away from the Breeders' Cup to do it. It'll be up to her and Mr. Hughes, obviously. I'll have to get his approval.”

Winner in seven of her eight most recent trips to the post–the only blemish being a close fourth in the 2014 GI Ogden Phipps S. in New York–Beholder was more workmanlike than brilliant in winning her next appearance in the 2014 Zenyatta, scoring by 3/4 of a length. She was struck by illness in the weeks thereafter, canceling not only a potential title defense of her GI Breeders' Cup Distaff title, but also a trip to the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, and she instead called it a season after just three starts. She kicked off 2015 the same way she did her 4-year-old campaign, with a handy score in the restricted Santa Lucia S. Apr. 10, but was forced to miss this year's Phipps with a minor illness. Much to the chagrin of five other females, she showed up instead in the GIII Adoration S. June 13, and came from just off the pace to take it by a 1 1/4-length margin that belied the ease with which it was accomplished.

Drawn in pole position for just the second time in her career, Beholder was not especially fast from the barriers and did not appear to be entirely comfortable while held up in fourth just to the inside of Yahilwa and behind the early speed of My Sweet Addiction (Tiznow). Keen beneath Gary Stevens as they made their way onto the backstretch, Beholder tugged her way up into a share of second, dropped back briefly into a three-wide third and was into a share of the lead by the time they reached the half-mile marker. Stevens could hold the 5-year-old mare no longer and allowed her to stride into the lead with a little more than three-eighths of a mile to travel and soon had My Sweet Addiction hard at it to her inside. Yahilwa loomed up with a four-wide challenge at the head of the lane, but Stevens kicked Beholder into a clear advantage and she rolled home under a masterful and cool, calm and collected ride from her Hall of Fame jockey.

“She's just amazing” said Stevens. “She's scary. She's just too much. This isn't work, this is fun.”

Saturday, Del Mar
CLEMENT L. HIRSCH S.-GI, $300,750, DMR, 8-1, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.81, ft.
1–BEHOLDER, 121, m, 5, by Henny Hughes
1st Dam: Leslie's Lady (SW, $187,014), by Tricky Creek
2nd Dam: Crystal Lady, by Stop the Music
3rd Dam: One Last Bird, by One for All
($180,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP). O-Spendthrift Farm LLC;
B-Clarkland Farm (KY); T-Richard E Mandella; J-Gary
L Stevens. $180,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo
& 3yo Filly, 18-13-3-0, $3,656,600. *1/2 to Into
Mischief (Harlan's Holiday), GISW, $597,080. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A.
BredRaisedSold-Clarkland
KeeSep-Clarkland
WoodfordNEWbullet
KBIF-G1_v3
2–Yahilwa, 119, m, 5, Medaglia d'Oro–Verbanella, by
Smart Strike. ($52,000 Ylg '11 KEESEP; 97,142gns
2yo '12 TATBRE; 45,000gns 3yo '13 TA13). O-DP
Racing LLC; B-Avalon Farms Inc. (KY); T-James M
Cassidy. $60,000.
3–Warren's Veneda, 123, m, 5, Affirmative–More Cal
Bread, by Flying Continental. O/B-Benjamin C Warren
(CA); T-Craig Anthony Lewis. $36,000.
Margins: 7, 4 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 0.30, 13.30, 8.10.
Also Ran: My Sweet Addiction, Honey Ride, My Monet, Legacy, Thegirlinthatsong. Scratched: Gusto Dolce (Uru).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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