Tag: beholder mile

Sweet Azteca Pillar to Post in Beholder Mile

Facing a bevy of more experienced rivals, lightly raced SWEET AZTECA (f, 4, Sharp Azteca–So Sweetitiz, by Grand Slam) led every step of the way to capture the renamed GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile S. at Santa Anita Saturday. Last summer's GI Clement L. Hirsch S. winner and even-money favorite Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) was second, while 'TDN Rising Star' and Pumpkin Pie S. winner Green Up (Upstart), an East Coast shipper, was third. Final time for the mile was 1:36.40.

A homebred for Pamela Cee Ziebarth, Sweet Azteca blasted right out of the gate and controlled the early tempo of :23.40 and :47.40 while in hand. As the dust settled with Green Up tracking just off the frontrunner's flank, Sweet Azteca showed no signs of slowing as she rounded the final turn and sailed into the stretch three lengths on top. Adare Manor blew by Green Up to chase the gray home, but couldn't catch the winner and finished three-quarters of a length in arrears.

“It felt like she was used to sprinting, so around the turn I tried to get her to relax, and she did the rest herself,” said Flavien Prat, who was aboard the winner. “At the turn for home, I felt the other horse coming and she picked it up herself.”

Sweet Azteca made one start as a 3-year-old last year for trainer Michael McCarthy, resulting in a Derby week win at Churchill Downs and an 85 debut Beyer Speed Figure. Benched until the GIII Las Flores S. at Santa Anita on New Year's Day, Sweet Azteca was outkicked for third after drifting out late, then roared back with a 12-length optional allowance win and a 91 Beyer over this surface going 6 1/2 furlongs Feb. 2. The Beholder Mile was her first try around two turns.

McCarthy previously won the Beholder Mile in 2020 with Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), who, like Sweet Azteca, was lightly raced and coming off a 6 1/2-furlong optional allowance a month prior. Ce Ce would go on to become the 2021 Eclipse champion female sprinter and a three-time Grade I winner, whose victories included the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Pedigree Notes:

Sweet Azteca is the first graded winner for Sharp Azteca, a former Three Chimneys stallion who is standing the 2024 season at Shizunai Stallion Station in Japan. With two crops to the races, Sharp Azteca is responsible for six black-type winners. Sweet Azteca also is one of 93 stakes winners out of a mare by the late Grand Slam. Both Sharp Azteca and Grand Slam also won Grade I races at a mile during their racing careers: the first in the 2017 Cigar Mile, the second in the 1997 Futurity S.

A third-generation homebred for Ziebarth, Sweet Azteca is out of a family first nurtured by Ziebarth's late mother, Cecilia Straub Rubens. The Beholder Mile winner's fourth dam is the famed Straub Rubens mare Cee's Song. Sold for $2.6 million to Dromoland Farm in 2001, Cee's Song produced Horse of the Year Tiznow, MGSW & GISP Budroyale, GSW Tizdubai, and the dams of GISWs Oxbow and Paynter. The family is seeing a revitalization in 2024 as, in addition to Sweet Azteca, 'TDN Rising Star', GII Rachel Alexandra S. winner, and top GI Kentucky Oaks contender Tarifa (Bernardini) is a direct descendant.

So Sweetitiz has a 2-year-old colt named Mucho Dulce (Mucho Macho Man) and a yearling colt named Under the Big Sky (Tonalist). She is in foal for 2024 with a full-sibling to Sweet Azteca.

 

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
BEHOLDER MILE S.-GI, $301,000, Santa Anita, 3-9, 4yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:36.40, ft.
1–SWEET AZTECA, 120, f, 4, by Sharp Azteca
           1st Dam: So Sweetitiz (MSW, $180,480), by Grand Slam
           2nd Dam: Sweetitiz, by El Prado (Ire)
           3rd Dam: Tizsweet, by Cee's Tizzy
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Pamela Cee Ziebarth (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy; J-Flavien Prat. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-1, $301,200. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-crosspedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Adare Manor, 122, m, 5, by Uncle Mo
           1st Dam: Brooklynsway (GSW-USA, MSW & GSP-Can, $724,597), by Giant Gizmo
           2nd Dam: Explosive Story, by Radio Star
           3rd Dam: Maya's Note, by Editor's Note
($180,000 Ylg '20 FTKFEB; $190,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $375,000 2yo '21 OBSOPN). O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC & Gary Broad (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Green Up, 120, m, 5, by Upstart
           1st Dam: Green Punch, by Two Punch
           2nd Dam: Green Jeans, by Green Dancer
           3rd Dam: Duds, by Ack Ack
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($10,000 Ylg '20 EASOCT). O-Team Valor International, LLC; B-Althea Richards (VA); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $36,000.
Margins: 3/4, 5HF, 3/4. Odds: 3.40, 1.10, 4.60.
Also Ran: Desert Dawn, Window Shopping, Coffee in Bed, Interstatedaydream. Scratched: Kirstenbosch, Turnerloose.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Beholder Mile To Be Renamed To Honor Hughes

The GI Beholder Mile is being renamed the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile in honor of the multiple champion's late owner, who passed away in August 2021.

Hughes, the founder of the Public Storage company and whose silks carried the same purple-and-orange color scheme, owned horses for five decades and was the proprietor of Spendthrift Farm from 2004.

Beholder, a daughter of Henny Hughes, was purchased for $180,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September sale and won a record 13 stakes races at Santa Anita, including the 2012 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and Breeders' Cup Distaffs in Arcadia in 2013 and 2016. A four-time Eclipse Award winner, she registered 12 Grade I victories and retired with earnings of $6,156,600. She was inducted into Racing's Hall of Fame in 2022.

“Santa Anita is proud to honor someone who gave so much to the sport,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager. “Mr. Hughes was a true sportsman who made contributions in every aspect of the game. It only seems appropriate that his name stands alongside his greatest racemare in Santa Anita's most prestigious race for fillies and mares.”

Added current Spendthrift owner Eric Gustavson: “The team at Spendthrift, including Wayne's daughter Tammy and me, would like to sincerely thank Santa Anita for renaming the Beholder Mile. To have B. Wayne Hughes's name attached to such a prestigious race, named after his best race mare at his favorite place is an amazing way to honor him.”

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Domestic Product Can Give Brown A First Tampa Bay Derby

Trainer Chad Brown has started but three horses in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, none of which has finished better than sixth, but in the form of Klaravich Stable's Domestic Product (Practical Joke), he could very well be getting his picture taken Saturday afternoon.

Having won his maiden over nine furlongs at second asking at Aqueduct in late October, the next logical step was the Dec. 2 GII Remsen S., but he caught a rain-affected strip he may not have preferred and faded through the final furlong to finish a well-beaten seventh. As has been well documented, the oft-maligned Remsen has proved productive, with Dornoch (Good Magic) and 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) winning 50-point Derby preps over the last several weeks. The 8-5 morning line second pick, Domestic Product ran on well to finish two lengths behind Hades (Awesome Slew) in the GIII Holy Bull S. Feb. 3.

Morplay Racing's No More Time (Not This Time) is the 7-5 pick on the strength of his 1 1/4-length defeat of the running-on 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) when a surprising favorite in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. over course and distance Feb. 10. Javier Castellano takes over at the controls from Paco Lopez on a horse whose speed figures remain very light.

Juxtaposed to Brown is trainer Todd Pletcher, who has won the Tampa Bay Derby no fewer than six times, including his first with Limehouse (Grand Slam) 20 years ago and Tapit Trice (Tapit) last March. Heartened (Street Boss) has not missed the top three in his four trips to the race, two each on turf and dirt. The bay most recently validated a quote of 40 cents on the dollar to break his maiden by a widening 4 1/2 lengths going this track's extended mile Feb. 10, and his 74 Beyer for that effort is not all that far off the 80 earned by No More Time in the Davis.

Florida Oaks A Tasty Appetizer

An intriguing field of 12 sophomore fillies is slated to go to post for Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks, and while Chad Brown is looking for a maiden win in the Derby one race later, his runners have taken the Oaks on three occasions, most recently with Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) in 2022.

Klaravich Stables' Dynamic Pricing (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) is the preferred half of an uncoupled entry. A 170,000gns purchase at Tattersalls October in 2022 by Mike Ryan on behalf of Seth Klarman's operation, the bay filly was up in the nick of time to break her maiden at first asking at Aqueduct Nov. 4.  Dynamic Pricing returned to action at a generous 28-5 in the Feb. 3 GIII Sweetest Chant S. and came with a solid finish to cross the line third, beaten two necks by Life's an Audible (Audible) and the re-opposing Style Points (Oscar Performance).

Austere (Mendelssohn) was a debut winner on the turf at Ellis Park last August before taking out the valuable Kentucky Downs Juvenile Fillies the following month. Tyler Gaffalione managed to work out an inside trip from a high draw in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 3, and the dark bay was scarcely disgraced in fifth, beaten two lengths behind Hard to Justify (Justify).

Placed once from two sprint tries over the Saratoga main track, Waskesiu (American Pharoah) improved by several lengths when bounding away to graduate by 4 1/2 lengths at Aqueduct Nov. 18. Made the 9-5 favorite in the Jan. 6 Ginger Brew S., the Chiefswood homebred was a bit wayward out of the gates, then turned in a mostly even effort to be third. She has since worked well up at Payson Park.

Pletcher Ships A Pair In For Beholder Mile

Rare are the California shippers for non-Breeders' Cup events from the barn of Todd Pletcher, but the Hall of Famer is set to be represented by a pair of entrants in Saturday's GI Beholder Mile at Santa Anita.

Commenting that he 'is trying to save racing one horse at a time,' Mike Repole paid $1.4 million to acquire the dual graded-stakes winner Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) from her previous owner Staton Flurry at Keeneland November just days after winning the Turnback the Alarm S. at Aqueduct. Frankie Dettori takes the ride on the Ontario-bred 5-year-old, while John Velazquez has the mount aboard 'TDN Rising Star' Green Up (Flatter), who–like her stablemate–exits a victory in Aqueduct stakes company, in her case the Nov. 5 Pumpkin Pie S.

Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) is the 5-2 favorite to give her sire back-to-back Beholder Mile winners following A Mo Reay last year. Also kept in training for a 5-year-old campaign, the Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer defeated Desert Dawn (Cupid) for her first elite-level success in the Clement L. Hirsch S. at Del Mar and added this track's GII Zenyatta S. in October before finishing seventh, but not beaten far, in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Arizona-bred Desert Dawn was winless in seven starts last term, including a runner-up effort in the GIII Bayakoa S. at Los Alamitos Dec. 15, but she got her 5-year-old season off on a high note with a one-length defeat of Coffee in Bed (Curlin) in the GIII La Canada S. Jan. 20.

Kinza Rates the Marquee in Santa Ysabel

'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Carpe Diem) puts her undefeated record on the line against seven others in a renewal of the GIII Santa Ysabel S. that looks competitive on paper.

The $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic breezer belied debut odds of 11-2 to romp home by 7 1/2 lengths going six furlongs over this strip Dec. 29 and was made the even-money choice in the GIII Las Virgenes S. Feb. 10. The New York-bred set reasonable fractions beneath Juan Hernandez and was never truly in danger, scoring by two lengths, with She's a Tempest (Connect) another 1 1/2 lengths back in third.

Of the five last-out maiden winners looking to negotiate the hike into stakes company, Ultimate Authority (Practical Joke) shapes with the most promise. She has turned in a pair of cracking efforts around two turns–each good for a 90 Beyer Speed Figure–missing by a head to She's a Tempest in a mile maiden Jan. 5 before defeating Where's My Ring (Twirling Candy) by a half-length over the same distance Feb. 2. The latter also takes her chance here.

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A Mo Reay Gives Hunter Valley First Top-Level Victory

When Hunter Valley Farm's Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin purchased A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo) for $400,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, the plan was to add the filly to the farm's broodmare band, but a string of three straight victories in the Hunter Valley colors has postponed that trip to the breeding shed and had the operation celebrating its first Grade I triumph when A Mo Reay scored a dramatic last-gasp victory in the GI Beholder Mile at Santa Anita Saturday.

“Adrian and another partner on the farm, John Wade, they both went out,” Galvin, who enjoyed Saturday's victory from his home in Kentucky, said. “But it was great. It was fantastic. We had a couple of near-misses with Family Way (Uncle Mo), she had a great campaign with Brendan Walsh for two years, showed up in a lot of the Grade I races, but to actually have one get a head in front in our own colors is fantastic. And it was made even better with Adrian and John out there to enjoy it all. Really at the end of the day, that's what it's all about, to be able to enjoy the big days. Everybody works hard in the business and you've got to be able to enjoy the big days.”

A Mo Reay was third in the 2021 GI Frizette S., but had yet to win a stakes race when she went through the ring at Fasig-Tipton last fall. Having spent most of her career on the main track, she came into the sale off a pair of efforts over the turf, finishing third in the Aug. 25 Riskaverse S. and fifth in the Sept. 18 GIII Pebbles S.

“She is a lovely physical,” Galvin said. “Adrian and I were talking and we were saying if she could just win a listed race to go along with her Grade I-placing, it would help her broodmare value down the road.”

A Mo Reay was sent to trainer Brad Cox's Fair Grounds base and duly delivered for the team with a three-length victory in the Dec. 31 Pago Hop S.

“Not long after she went down there, Brad was starting to speak in pretty glowing terms about her,” Galvin said. “So we were getting more and more confident with her as time went on.”

The group's optimism in the filly continued to grow when a trip to Oaklawn Park resulted in a late-closing half-length victory in the Feb. 4 GIII Bayakoa S. Shipped across the country, A Mo Reay was sent off at 7-1 in the Beholder Mile. She rolled up to engage Fun to Dream (Arrogate) at the top of the stretch, only to have the even-money favorite scamper clear. Undeterred, A Mo Reay closed relentlessly to just get her head in front on the line.

Of the dramatic stretch run, Galvin said, “I can't say I was confident, but the way she has finished in her two prior races with Brad, she has done her best work in the last furlong. So I knew she would definitely finish up. It was just a matter of if she could catch Baffert's filly and it was really nail-biting as she just kind of got her at the final jump.”

Hunter Valley came close to Grade I glory a few times last year with Family Way, a filly Galvin purchased on behalf of the farm, Marc Detampel and Debra O'Connor for €150,000 at the 2020 Arqana December sale. The mare was on the board in three Grade I races last term, including a runner-up effort in the GI Rodeo Drive S. in October before selling for $1.45 million at the 2022 Fasig November sale.

Could A Mo Reay's Grade I victory mean a return to the sales ring this coming November?

“It's a bit too early to say,” Galvin said. “She has obviously become a very valuable proposition. We do know that she will definitely race this year and we haven't really discussed anything beyond that. Everything is open at this stage. We just want to enjoy her racing career this year and come up with a plan later on.”

Hunter Valley has been involved in several high-profile purchases of racing age fillies who succeed for their partners both at the track and then again in the sales ring. In addition to Family Way, the operation purchased Caravel (Mizzen Mast), who went on to win last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, for $500,000 at the 2021 Fasig November sale, as well as Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), who was purchased for $5 million at that same auction before adding another graded victory and a pair of Grade I placings to her resume before reselling for that same figure last year.

“If you do get lucky enough to stumble across the likes of an A Mo Reay or a Family Way, the prize money structure if they are good enough to compete at that level is really fantastic,” Galvin said. “Especially with fillies, you have the residual value. Whether or not she succeeded for us back at the racetrack, we knew A Mo Reay had plenty of broodmare value. It's nice to have a fallback when you buy them with black-type, or Grade I-placing, in her case. She wasn't cheap at $400,000, but at the same time, she had already X amount of broodmare value as it was. There is less risk involved with fillies, and certainly well-bred fillies.”

As for where A Mo Reay may start next, Galvin said, “She came out of [the Beholder] good and she will fly back to her Fair Grounds base the middle of the week. I haven't really had much time to chat with him, but you really don't have to get in Brad's way too much as far as race planning. He is always about two steps ahead of everybody.”

 

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