At the peak of her game at age five, Bob Baffert trainee As Time Goes By heads a field of six older fillies and mares in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
A 13 ½ length winner of the G3 La Canada Stakes on Jan. 1, As Time Goes By took the G3 Bayakoa Stakes at Los Alamitos on Dec. 5 and thus seeks her third consecutive win as she shortens up half a furlong. Second in last year's Beholder Mile to eventual Eclipse Award winner Swiss Skydiver, As Time Goes By is a four-time graded stakes winner in search of her first Grade 1 victory.
A daughter of Baffert's 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah out of the Dehere mare Take Charge Lady, As Time Goes By has four wins and three seconds from seven Santa Anita starts. Owned by Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier, As Time Goes by, who has an abundance of natural speed, is 13-6-3-1 overall with earnings of $655,600. She'll be ridden for the third consecutive time by leading man Flavien Prat.
The leading money earner in the field with $931,658, Envoutante will ship in from her Gulfstream Park base and try to give trainer Kenny McPeek his second consecutive Beholder win, as he was also the trainer of the great Swiss Skydiver.
A 5-year-old mare by Uncle Mo out of the Bluegrass Cat mare Enchante, Envoutante has been idle since executing a front-running six length score in the G2 Fall City Stakes over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs Nov. 25. Owned by Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC and Three Chimneys Farm, she's a three-time graded stakes winner with an overall mark of 16-6-2-4.
Never off the board in her last nine starts, the Phil D'Amato-conditioned Miss Bigly was attentive to the pace and went on to a 1 ¼ length win going a mile and one sixteenth in Oaklawn Park's G3 Bayakoa Stakes Feb. 12 and will be ridden back by Oaklawn-based Ramon Vazquez on Saturday.
A 6-year-old mare by Gemologist out of the Citidancer mare Miss Puzzle, Miss Bigly will be making her 12th start for D'Amato. Owned by Agave Racing Stable, Living The Dream Stables LLC and Rockin Robin Racing Stables, Miss Bigly, who is five for eight at one mile, is 26-8-4-8 overall with earnings of $641,242.
THE GRADE 1 BEHOLDER MILE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 9 of 11 Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT
- Varda—Juan Hernandez—120
- Moonlight d'Oro—Mike Smith–120
- As Time Goes By—Flavien Prat—122
- Founder's Day—Ryan Curatolo–120
- Miss Bigly—Ramon Vazquez—122
- Envoutante—John Velazquez–122
Early first post time for an 11-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon with admission gates opening at 10 a.m.
The post McPeek Seeks Back-To-Back Beholder Mile Wins, Ships Envoutante For 2022 Edition appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
