The talented daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) has posted a pair of two-furlong breezes for trainer Richard Mandella over Santa Anita's all-weather surface this month, most recently stopping the timer in :23.80 (1/1) Apr. 10.

How are the initial reports so far?

“Really good,” Spendthrift Farm's General Manager Ned Toffey replied. “You know Richard. We certainly weren't gonna put any pressure and Richard is a guy who's gonna give them all the time they need. She's gotten a chance to heal up. She just needed time. There was a fracture of the splint bone on the hind leg. It wasn't anything too dramatic, but just needed plenty of time. She got that and hopefully is ready to move forward now.”

He continued, “He's breezed her twice now and has been very happy with what he's seen so far. He simply said that, 'she's eager to do more,' which I think is a great sign. Obviously, it will be a bit before she's ready to run, but we know she's in good hands. It's enough to be excited about her 3-year-old year.”

Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19. She ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. She set the pace and tired to finish a disappointing seventh, beaten 8 1/4 lengths, behind champion Just F Y I (Justify) while making her two-turn debut in the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Nov. 3.

“We're still at a point where we're gonna just continue to let her dictate to us,” Toffey said. “She's certainly a filly who's shown enough that she can be anything. Obviously, we'd love to see her land in the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year, she's the kind of filly that could put you there. Richard will listen to her and let her tell us when she's ready to roll. Hopefully, she stays sound and we can have the kind of year that you would hope that a filly like that can give you.”

Tamara is the fourth foal from the aforementioned four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner Beholder. Beholder's colt by Curlin, now two, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale last summer. Beholder has also produced 2023 GIII Senorita S. heroine Teena Ella (War Front). She had a filly by Jackie's Warrior Feb. 13, and, according to Toffey, is currently in foal to Gun Runner for the 2025 season.

She's here, and she's perfect Beholder foaled a gorgeous Jackie's Warrior filly in the early morning hours on February 13th, which also happens to be her sire's birthday. pic.twitter.com/fKF3FhLHxV

— Spendthrift Farm (@spendthriftfarm) February 14, 2024

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Since then, the youngster's pedigree has grown even more impressive as his elder sister Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) won the GI Del Mar Debutante S. in jaw-dropping fashion. The 'TDN Rising Star' was the heavy favorite going into the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, but finished seventh and came out of the race with a small fracture in a hind splint bone.

In the meantime, Zedan Racing's $4 million purchase–who was the first of Beholder's babies to go to public auction–was sent to Eddie Woods Stables and has slowly been learning the ropes of the racetrack in sunny Ocala. The colt is now just days away from turning two and veteran Woods says that his charge is taking every step in the right direction.

“We've taken him through the paces slowly,” Woods reported. “He's now been galloping on the track about three weeks. He's jogging about half a mile and he's cantering a mile and we'll kind of keep it at that for a while. We're probably going to be giving him a little bit of a break here after a while just to get over the breaking process.”

The yearling earned a bit of a reputation in Saratoga when he was on his toes in the sales ring and put in one hair-raising rear, but Woods said that the colt has been nothing but straightforward in his demeanor. One only needs to watch as the young athlete steps through the gate without so much as batting an eye to agree.

“He was a little wiry one day in public so everyone just thinks that's the way they are and it's not always the case,” Woods said. “He's a good-feeling horse and he'll be on it a little bit, but he behaves himself well and he's good in traffic. He moves well and he's been a pretty straightforward kind of colt.”

Fans of this exciting prospect and his talented family will have to wait well into 2024 to see him near his debut.

“He's not a horse that is going to be running four-and-a-half or five furlongs or anything like that,” Woods said. “He won't run until probably Del Mar or something. You can put in a lot of unnecessary miles on him, so we'll just give him a chance to grow up and get over being broken and just be a horse.”

Woods has had plenty of sons and daughters of leading sire Curlin at his successful training facility and he's trained almost as many seven-figure yearlings, but he said this is the first foal from Beholder's impressive family that he has had the privilege of working with and added that this colt might have the highest price tag in his stable's history.

“We've had a lot of expensive horses, but we haven't had a $4 million one here before,” he noted. “So it's pretty cool. He's a lovely-looking horse.”

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There are so many great moments from 2023. It really is hard to choose. I would say that from a “Taylor Made” perspective it has to be selling the highest-priced yearling in North America. The Curlin colt out of the legendary Beholder was raised and prepped beautifully by the team at Spendthrift. Having the opportunity to represent Spendthrift on a horse of that quality was a blessing for our whole Team!

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Japanese superstar Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Mile, began her marathon training session, while the horse to catch in the Dirt equivalent 'Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) left the pony raring to go.

John Gosden, represented by potential race favorites for the Filly & Mare Turf and Turf with the brilliant duo of Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), made his way through the less congested apron as the lively 'Breakfast at the Breeders' Cup' crowd packed into the legendary Clockers' Corner viewing area at the top of the stretch.

Aidan O'Brien, also in town from the other side of the pond, will be loaded for the Championships as well. Standouts from his arsenal include: River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) for the Juvenile Turf; Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the F/M Turf; and, of course, the G1 Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the Turf.

Elite Power back to defend his Sprint title and feeling good exiting the track pic.twitter.com/4wdhwZMYbs

— Steve Sherack (@SteveSherackTDN) November 2, 2023

Royal Ascot last out G2 Queen Mary S. heroine Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), one of three entered for former Wayne Lukas assistant George Weaver in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, made a nice impression while sporting a white bridle as she gets ready to face off versus the boys from her rail draw.

Speaking of white bridles and former Lukas assistants, the Todd Pletcher-trained 'Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) has also stood out in the mornings during training hours this week. The blaze-faced chestnut is the 7-2 morning-line favorite for a fantastic renewal of Friday's Juvenile. Co-owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners will also be well-represented by unbeaten Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the Juvenile Fillies.

Locked | Sherackatthetrack

After assembling a highlight reel of morning breezes since his game win in this summer's GI Pacific Classic–do yourself a favor and head to XBTV's fantastic website if you haven't already done so yet–Classic horse to beat 'Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) was feeling mighty good during a light gallop while giving his exercise rider a workout of his own just two days out from the $6-million main event.

Stacked with nine Breeders' Cup runners, including Classic duo Dreamlike (Gun Runner) and Bright Future (Curlin) and Turf standout Up to the Mark (Not This Time), owner Mike Repole was in good form as always while making the rounds with jockey, err, daughter Gioia, who was sporting a pair of the family's blue-and-orange silks.

Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), a rallying second at 55-1 in last year's Mile, couldn't be looking any better in the flesh at the age of six as he seeks to go one better. Could he be sitting on another big effort at a price?

Shirl's Speight | Sherackatthetrack

'Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) made her way through the purpled-out paddock as training hours began to wind down. The daughter of Beholder's many admirers in attendance included her trainer Richard Mandella as well as a big Spendthrift Farm crew, led by owners Eric and Tamara Hughes Gustavson, and Ned Toffey and Mark Toothaker.

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Before heading out to join Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in Southern California, they were both broken and trained on behalf of Spendthrift Farm at Raul and Martha Reyes's King's Equine in Ocala, Florida.

Like mother, like daughter?

“Actually, Tamara was a little different as a yearling than Beholder was,” Raul Reyes said. “Tamara was a little bit more of a rebel. She was a little harder to break for a couple of weeks–she had her own mind. Then, she changed and became a regular filly. On the other side, Beholder was very pleasant all the time. She never gave you any trouble.”

Reyes continued, “Beholder was a little more stocky and had more muscle. Tamara has really filled out since Mandella has had her.”

Tamara is the fourth foal produced by the four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner. Beholder's first two offspring–Q B One (g, 5, by Uncle Mo) and Karin With an I (f, 4, by Curlin)–failed to find the winner's circle and were a combined 0-for-6 at the races. Tamara's 3-year-old half-sister Teena Ella (War Front), winner of this spring's grassy GIII Senorita S. at Santa Anita, became Beholder's first winner as a broodmare in February.

Beholder's yearling colt by Curlin, meanwhile, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale this summer. Barren for 2023, Beholder was covered by Jackie's Warrior for next season.

Tamara, ears up, toying with the competition in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. | Benoit

Reyes and Mandella would often chat about and compare notes on Beholder's offspring during Mandella's visits to King's Equine, Reyes said. Mandella has trained all of Beholder's progeny to date.

“I told him that I didn't know how good this filly (Tamara) was going to be, but she sure was better than her siblings,” Reyes said. “I broke all of Beholder's (offspring) and Tamara looked more racey. She breezed way better than all of them–way way better. She used to outrun the company when I used to breeze her here. The filly before her (Teena Ella) won a Grade III and she was O.K. But Tamara was exceptional. We didn't know that she'd go on and win these races like that. But she was the best one of the siblings by far.”

Carrying the namesake of B. Wayne Hughes's daughter–sounds like the folks at Spendthrift concurred with Reyes's assessment–Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19.

Tamara ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite and then some with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. Tamara will be heavily favored as she tries two turns for the first time in the Juvenile Fillies. She has been installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite.

“The way she runs, she makes you think that she's gonna be alright,” Reyes said.

Beholder seeks to become the fifth Breeders' Cup winner to also produce a winner at the two-day Championships.

Living the American Dream…

Growing up a mile from the racetrack in his native Tijuana, Mexico, Reyes wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, a quarter horse jockey in Texas. Reyes began working on the backstretch at the tender age of 10 back in 1975–yes, you read that correctly–and just six years later, began to pursue his career in the saddle in California.

“I came to the United States and worked for a couple of good trainers, but I was too big to be a jockey,” Reyes said. “I had to quit riding when I was like 20. It was hard for me because I couldn't speak English very well. Can you imagine? It's hard enough for an American kid to make it here.”

King's Equine's Raul Reyes | Fasig-Tipton

Reyes subsequently relocated to Florida to begin training and caught his big break while working the yearling sales for Taylor Made in Kentucky. Everything began to fall into place from there.

“They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime,” Reyes said. “That opened my eyes. I learned how to sell horses and how to deal with people. I must say, my friend (Taylor Made's Vice President of Sales) Frank Taylor, he's the one who really made it happen for me. He introduced me to all these good people–the biggest clients in the world all come to Taylor Made. And then I met Wayne. That's really how I got started.”

Wayne, of course, is B. Wayne Hughes, the late founder of Spendthrift Farm who passed away in 2021.

“We became pretty good friends,” Reyes said. “And we've had pretty good success together. They are great people to work with.”

Reyes typically trains approximately 100 head at his 84-acre training center and is also a leading consignor at the 2-year-old-in-training sales. Spendthrift Farm has been a client of his for nearly two decades now.

“We try to keep it simple,” Reyes said. “It can get very complicated if you start looking for ways to do it differently. People have been doing this for a 100 years. They say the good things don't change.”

In addition to Beholder and Tamara, other King's Equine training graduates include: champion Letruska (Super Saver); MGISW Miss Temple City (Temple City); GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Silver Train (Old Trieste); and GISWs Jimmy Creed (Distorted Humor) and Hit the Road (More Than Ready).

King's Equine's 2-year-old sale alumni include: GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) ($200,000 2yo '20 EASMAY); MGSW millionaire Stanford (Malibu Moon) ($550,000 2yo '14 BARMAR); MGSW Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) ($140,000 2yo '17 BARMAR); and GSW and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) ($245,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR).

“I've been in Ocala for 25 years already,” Reyes said. “This is a place that's been very good to me. That's a lot of good seasons that I've had here now.”

Reyes's 2023 season is about to get even better at 2:40 p.m. PT on Friday afternoon.

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In the work Tamara hooked up with some company, reportedly an unraced two-year-old colt, whom she outworked.

“I was actually kind of hoping to gain some company,” Smith told Zoe Cadman, “and it worked out great. If I hadn't, she's a pretty good work horse if you want her to be. But we were fortunate to catch a little company and she went really nice this morning. I gave them a five-length head start and she came up to them. I gave her a little breather around the turn and headed for home. I let her turn over to her right lead and I wanted to see if she was there, and boy she set me back in the seat, so all systems are go. She's not a tall horse, but she's long and she's very athletic and she really gets up under herself good. You could put a glass of water up on her back and turn her loose out there and she probably wouldn't spill half of it. She's just so smooth.”

Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Tamara (Outside) worked 6 Furlongs in 1:12.60 on October 22nd, 2023, for trainer Richard Mandella. pic.twitter.com/KsRqWK4c5o

— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 22, 2023

Trainer Richard Mandella also pronounced himself pleased with the work.

“She can run,” said Mandella. “She's not a big horse, but when the time is needed, she rises to the occasion. She swells up. She's not tall, she's kind of stocky and stout and growing as we go along. She'll end up bigger than this, but she's big enough,” he concluded with a smile.

Mandella, of course, trained Beholder and Smith was the regular rider on Songbird, whom Beholder beat in her last-ever race in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff. Smith was asked about the irony of that as Tamara's regular rider.

“I even rode her mother once,” said Smith, “but It's pretty cool. I guess it means I've been around for a little bit. It's kind of cool to see these young ones come up and look, she's got a long ways to go before she comes close to her mother, but she's certainly on the right track.”

As for the upcoming Breeders' Cup, Smith said, “I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to it, especially getting to ride a filly with the kind of talent she does. If all goes well, the sky's the limit for her.”

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Each race–particularly a Breeders' Cup win–is special to the connections of the winner, but some races stand out more than others in all who are lucky enough to witness them. Some get embedded in the mind and take up permanent residence there. Just about everyone in racing can recall in vivid detail Arazi's scintillating 1991 Juvenile or Personal Ensign's electrifying 1988 Distaff or Tiznow's gripping 2001 Classic. Each of those are among the transcendent performances in our sport that stir the soul, both for those who witnessed them in person or live on television and even in newer racing devotees who discover them for the first time.

Without a doubt, the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff ranks among the best races in Breeders' Cup history. Two already-beloved Breeders' Cup winners and future Hall of Famers locked horns in what would prove a race for the ages, only to finish millimeters apart at the wire.

To jog the memory, that year's Distaff was the last Breeders' Cup race on Friday's card at Santa Anita and the final race of Beholder's stellar career. The Spendthrift colorbearer was already a three-time Eclipse champion, a 10-time Grade I winner, and a dual Breeders' Cup winner. However, after three straight runner-up finishes and certainly in the twilight of her career at the age of six, there were whispers that perhaps the great mare's best days were behind her.

Beholder at Spendthrift | Sarah Andrew

“I was really nervous about it going in because I wasn't quite sure she was the same Beholder as a 6-year-old as she had been her 5-year-old year,” said Ned Toffey, general manager at Spendthrift. “I remember the next day wondering why my hands were sore and it was because I was pounding on the box, pounding on the wall as they were coming down the stretch, cheering her home.”

For her part, the Fox Hill-owned Songbird was no slouch either as an undefeated 3-year-old filly. Her previous 11 starts–and wins–included seven Grade I victories and the last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, as well as an Eclipse championship of her own. The question facing her was how she would handle older mares for the first time, especially one as tough as Beholder.

“With her first Breeders' Cup, I don't think we've ever had a horse we were as confident in,” said Victoria Keith, Fox Hill Farm's vice president at the time. “You get really, really spoiled by a horse of her caliber. With [Fox Hill's] Havre de Grace and Hard Spun, you knew they were going to give a good effort, but with Songbird, you got the idea she was invincible.

“This race was the toughest competition. When you're going to be meeting up with Beholder…” Keith trailed off. “l always feel when two great horses meet each other, the [older horse] is going to have the physical advantage even with a weight allowance. The fact that Songbird ran so well was something to be so proud of.”

It was exactly the type of showdown we all crave and that so rarely comes to fruition. Both were clearly at their best that day. Of course, there were a number of other top fillies and mares in that year's Distaff, but they were all running for third.

In a stretch run reminiscent of Sunday Silence and Easy Goer in the 1989 Preakness or Affirmed and Alydar in the 1978 Belmont, Songbird and Beholder exited that final bend together and threw it all down. Nose to nose for stride after pulsating stride, neither deserved to lose.

“We had a bad angle on the wire and it looked to me like Songbird had gotten her nose down on the wire,” said Toffey. “It was a great race. Two champions, two gutsy, courageous mares. Those are the kind we're' all looking for.”

Songbird at Gainesway | Sarah Andrew

Keith had the same thoughts. “We all stood there and thought Songbird had won. From our angle it certainly looked like she'd nosed out Beholder. We were so proud to be part of that race, one that is considered to be one of the best Breeders' Cup races ever.”

In the end, the photo showed Beholder's nostrils just a hair breadth in front at the wire, but the bob could just as easily have gone to Songbird. Both had given their best, neither had disappointed, and the two have been inextricably linked since.

“We were waiting for [the photo] and when it came down, I remember the look on [Fox Hill owner] Rick [Porter]'s face,” said Keith. “At first, we were so disappointed, so sure it was us, and then so proud that the disappointment didn't last long.”

The Spendthrift team had the opposite experience, initially believing they'd lost the photo and then realizing they'd won the epic battle.

“Our group was ecstatic. Just jubilation,” said Toffey. “We all knew going in that it was going to be Beholder's last start. At six, it was time to be retired and be bred. It was funny because there wasn't a sense of pressure because she'd had such a remarkable career already, having won a Grade I at two, three, four, five, and six. It was, in some ways, an unprecedented career.

“Songbird was a worthy adversary and she certainly didn't disappoint. It was a really, really fitting way for Beholder to wrap up one of the greatest careers we've seen, a great and fitting way to cap her career.”

Both Beholder and Songbird earned year-end championships in their respective divisions. Beholder became only the second horse in history to win three Breeders' Cup races.

Despite officially losing what would become a match race, Songbird inspired enduring respect and a legion of hashtags on social media claiming #SongbirdWon.

Both owners of the two champions have since passed away: Fox Hill's Rick Porter in June, 2021 and Spendthrift's B. Wayne Hughes two months later.

Beholder with Spendthrift's Kendall Wucker | Sarah Andrew

“Probably one of my favorite memories is that Rick and Mr. Hughes became friends,” reminisced Keith. “One time [Hughes] invited us to his house to show us his guest bathroom downstairs with custom wallpaper of Songbird and Beholder. Obviously for him to do something like that showed how equally proud he was. Those two gentlemen were two of the finer men in racing. Both were so proud to be part of that race and those two fillies. That's what is so special about it to me.”

Both mares have continued to make headlines. Beholder was retired after the Distaff to Spendthrift Farm.

“It was huge for us to bring her home,” said Toffey. “There are obviously plenty of nice mares on the farm, plenty of nice horses, but when you have a horse like that get off the van, there's a little added sense of pressure to the task of getting her let down safely and settled into farm life, plus to go on and get her bred, all those things.

“[Trainer Richard] Mandella did such a great job taking care of her at the track. It was very gratifying for her to come home and to hope she was going to come in and have a good, long career. A horse like that sort of picks everybody's head up on the farm. There's a sense of pride, something really special about it, how it lifts everyone's morale.”

Songbird with her Curlin filly | Sarah Andrew

Each foal has been eagerly anticipated, with the farm willingly sharing updates with the public. Beholder's first two foals did not live up to her lofty standards at the track, but her next three have each made headlines in 2023. There is a sense that she is just getting started as a producer despite a slower start.

Her first foal, Q B One (Uncle Mo), did not win at the racetrack. He is now a 5-year-old and has been gelded.

“He is a young lady's show horse,” said Toffey. “He has a great, great home, goes to horse shows regularly. He was not an easy horse. If he had almost any other pedigree, he would have been gelded sooner as he was a little bit of a rogue. He had a hard time concentrating on doing his job, so it was hard to get an assessment of his talent level, but he didn't show a lot of focus.”

Karin With an I (Curlin), Beholder's 4-year-old, was unplaced in two starts.

“She is back here at Spendthrift,” said Toffey. “She's a beautiful filly, very strong, marked sort of similarly to Beholder. For whatever reason, she didn't demonstrate a lot of talent. She is in foal to [Spendthrift's Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner] Authentic.

“The mating was always interesting. We were waiting to do it for a generation or so because there's some thought of inbreeding to superior females. The foal will be 3×3 to Leslie's Lady. We're excited about the potential there.”

Leslie's Lady, of course, was the Broodmare of the Year who produced both Beholder and Into Mischief, Spendthrift's record-breaking four-time leading sire.

Beholder's current 3-year-old filly, Teena Ella (War Front), became her first winner in February and then went one better by capturing the GIII Senorita S. in May. Toffey said she is the least impressive physically of Beholder's foals to date, as she is “somewhat short and compact, but definitely had a little bit of zip to her.” He said she was just starting to come into her own, but had some niggling issues and will be retired and bred this coming year.

Beholder | Sarah Andrew

A graded winner is a wonderful accomplishment for any broodmare, but Beholder is not just any mare. In hindsight, she was just warming up with Teena Ella. Her 2-year-old filly has since become the undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' and facile GI Del Mar Debutante S. winner Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), who has given flashbacks of her brilliant dam. Tamara is targeting the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, which Beholder won 11 years ago. And then, of course, there's Beholder's yearling colt by Curlin, who topped August's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale when realizing $4 million from agent Donato Lanni on behalf of Zedan Racing.

Beholder was barren to the cover of Gun Runner this year. She is in foal to Jackie's Warrior for 2024.

“There was a time when Mr. Hughes thought about selling Beholder,” said Toffey. “It was early in her career, but she developed a fever which kept us from shipping her to Fasig-Tipton. That may have been some of the best luck we've ever had. Mr. Hughes had a saying, 'This is the damnedest business, because at the time when you have luck, you don't even know for a couple of years whether it's good luck or bad luck.' How fortunate that led us to keep her. After her win [over males in the 2015 GI] Pacific Classic, there was no selling her. Some of the best luck.

“There is something really special about Beholder,” continued Toffey. “She's only a little bit bigger than average. She's a good, strong filly, not huge, but now on the farm she's grown and developed and is that much bigger. She has a tremendous presence about her that you would get a sense of even if you didn't know who she was. She sort of knows that she's special. There's a presence and a substance to her that really strands out.”

Songbird | Sarah Andrew

Songbird had a slightly different journey than her biggest rival after the 2016 Distaff. She briefly raced the next summer, adding two more Grade I wins to her extensive CV, then topped Fasig-Tipton's November Sale as a $9.5-million broodmare prospect when Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm LLC won the bidding war.

“While it was hard [to say goodbye to Songbird], Rick was never really into breeding,” said Keith. “He had tried his hand at it a little bit earlier and thought about buying a farm in Lexington, but it didn't pan out and he didn't really want to board them elsewhere. Rick loved the horses but was also very disciplined. For him that meant there was a certain amount of money he'd spend at auction and from that crop there would be a very small percentage that would pay for the rest, not on the track, but in selling. That enabled him to keep in the black by having that discipline.

“He had to be able to sell the valuable breeding prospects. The good thing is that he was at the level in racing that you know the person who is going to buy the horse is going to be a good owner, and give certainly as good a home as we'd ever give the horse. It was exciting for him to see his horses do well in every area. The businessman in him was very disciplined in that.”

Like Beholder, Songbird did not immediately find success with her first foals, but each foal brings renewed promise and hope. Also like Beholder, she too sent her first yearling to the sales this year. Songbird's Curlin colt was a $1-million Book 1 purchase by Grandview Equine at the Keeneland September Sale.

Songbird's initial foal, the unraced Arrogate filly Song Gate, produced her first foal, a filly by Tapit, this year. Songbird's 3-year-old filly, Magical Song (Tapit), last raced at Saratoga Aug. 18 for trainer Todd Pletcher but has not yet found the winner's circle. She also has an unraced 2-year-old filly by Tapit, as well as that seven-figure Keeneland yearling. Songbird produced another Curlin foal, a filly this time, May 1 and has been bred back to Gun Runner.

“I've watched her from afar,” said Keith. “She was such a sweetheart, it's sort of unbelievable to me how sweet she was [and yet such a competitor]. The most you can hope for in racing is that you've been blessed enough to own a horse like that.

“Rick was very blessed and I got to ride along on the coattails. I got to live vicariously. It was so fun, a very special journey. I wish everyone in horse racing could experience it.”

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The daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder sat closer to the pace than in her maiden victory. When jockey Mike Smith asked her, Tamara breezed past the pacesetter, opened up by the top of the lane and cruised home much the best.

The comments afterward told it all.

“It gave me chills,” winning trainer Richard Mandella remarked.

“I've been here in California for four years,” jockey Umberto Rispoli said as he came off the track following his seventh-place finish in the race. “I have never seen anything like that.”

“You don't often see the offspring of a great mare run anywhere close to what they did,” jockey Mike Smith told FanDuel. “But she's an exception to the rule.”

They were talking about the daughter of Bolt d'Oro on the backstretch Sunday morning.

“It was outstanding,” trainer Peter Miller remarked. “She looked like her mother.”

Mandella says Tamara came out of the race fine. In regards to a Breeders' Cup prep, he says they would play it by ear.

“There's a chance we might run her in the GI Chandelier S. Oct. 7 at Santa Anita,” Mandella says. “If it looks like she needs to run again, then we'll run her there. If not we'll point her straight to the Breeders' Cup. But so far she looks great.”

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Just under two weeks after her yearling by Curlin lit up the ring at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, champion Beholder (Henny Hughes) enjoyed another banner result when her 2-year-old daughter Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following her professional debut victory at Del Mar Saturday.

Sent off as the 3-1 second choice, Tamara bobbled slightly at the break from the inside gate, but rushed up along the rail beneath Mike Smith to sit just off pacesetting favorite Hope Road (Quality Road) through fractions of :22.53 and :46.11. She tipped out a path at the top of the lane, collared Hope Road–a dead-heat runner-up to recent GIII Sorrento S. third Dua (Arrogate) on her bow July 22–inside the final furlong before skipping clear to the wire to win by 2 1/4 lengths. It was another 5 1/2 lengths back to Desert Rhapsody (Cairo Prince) in third. The final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:17.37.

Tamara, named for late Spendthrift owner B. Wayne Hughes's daughter, is the fourth foal out of the operation's four-time champion Beholder. Her year-older half-sister Teena Ella (War Front) won the GIII Senorita S. in May, while her year-younger half-brother by Curlin topped the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale two weeks ago when selling for $4 million to Amr Zedan.

“[Late Spendthrift owner] Wayne [Hughes] insisted we breed Beholder to Bolt out of respect for our partner Mick Ruis,” Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker tweeted after the victory. “There was some debate, but Wayne would hear none of it. Beholder's groom taking care of her as well.”

Tamara's deeper female family needs little introduction. Beholder, a $180,000 purchase by Spendthrift at Keeneland September in 2011, was bred by Clarkland Farm, who purchased dam Leslie's Lady for $100,000 in foal to Orientate at the 2006 Keeneland November Sale. Just over a year later, Into Mischief made that decision look good when taking out the GI CashCall Futurity for Hughes and Richard Mandella. Into Mischief has since gone on to become one of the most successful sires in the world, with 133 black-type winners to date.

By the time Leslie's Lady's Scat Daddy colt sold to Coolmore for a sales-topping price of $3 million at Keeneland September in 2016, Beholder had won 10 Grade Is and three Eclipse Awards before adding to both totals when going out a winner in a memorable renewal of the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Mendelssohn became a Breeders' Cup champion in his own right in the 2018 GI Juvenile Turf–at Del Mar–and is also off to a promising start at stud. Leslie's Lady is also the dam of Clarkland's 'TDN Rising Star' Marr Time (Not This Time).

Barren to Gun Runner for 2023, Beholder was bred back to Spendthrift's Jackie's Warrior this year.

7th-Del Mar, $84,500, Msw, 8-19, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:17.37, ft, 2 1/4 lengths.
TAMARA f, 2, by Bolt d'Oro
1st Dam: Beholder (Ch. 2yo Filly, Ch. 3yo Filly, 2x Ch. Older Mare,
MGISW, $6,156,600), by Henny Hughes
2nd Dam: Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek
3rd Dam: Crystal Lady, by Stop the Music
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,200. O/B-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. *1/2 to Teena Ella (War Front), GSW, $128,740.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree, or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

Tamara & @mikeesmith10 win going away!

The daughter of Beholder is the spitting image of the Champion mare. pic.twitter.com/E9A8IGyPGp

— Del Mar Racetrack (@DelMarRacing) August 20, 2023

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A filly whose pedigree needs no introduction, TAMARA (Bolt d'Oro) is the latest foal out of MGISW Beholder to make the races for Spendthrift Farm and trainer Richard Mandella. Beholder, now a graded-stakes producer with Teena Ella (War Front), saw her youngest foal by Curlin bring a sale-topping $4,000,000 at last week's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. Out of blue hen Leslie's Lady, she is of course a half-sister to GISW Mendelssohn and leading general sire Into Mischief. Drawn on the rail, Tamara picks up veteran Mike Smith for her debut.

Further outside for Mandella, Flynn's Chance (Medaglia d'Oro) brought $675,000 as a yearling out of Keeneland September last year and is a full-sister to GSW Moonlight d'Oro. This is the family of champion 3-year-old filly Abel Tasman (Quality Road).

A filly making her second start for trainer John Sadler, Hope Road (Quality Road) dead-heated for second by just a half-length at Del Mar July 22. She is the first foal out of GISW Marley's Freedom (Blame). TJCIS PPS

1st-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 1:10 p.m.

On the East Coast, Hunt Ball (Into Mischief) debuts for Godolphin and trainer Bill Mott. Out of the Tapit mare Dance Card, herself a Grade I winner, he is a half-brother to MGISW Cody's Wish (Curlin) and MGSW Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro).

Act of Mutiny (Quality Road), a Will Farish homebred, is a half to GSW/GISP Eagle (Candy Ride {Arg}), MGSW and freshman sire Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags), and MGSW Royal Flag (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Against the rail, Risk It (Gun Runner) debuts for Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm and was a $500,000 Keeneland September yearling. TJCIS PPS

7th-ELP, $70K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 4:00 p.m.

Making a belated debut for Shadwell Stables is Sahalat (Speightstown), a 4-year-old colt who brought $800,000 as a yearling back in 2020. He is a full-brother to MGISP Dawn the Destroyer. TJCIS PPS

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