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Swiss Skydiver Returns to Arcadia for Beholder Mile

Champion Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) crushed her competition on her last trip to the west coast for the GII Santa Anita Oaks last spring and looks to repeat that performance Saturday when she returns to Santa Anita for the GI Beholder Mile. Capturing the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and GIII Fantasy S. prior to the Santa Anita Oaks last term, the chestnut took on males next out in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. July 11, finishing a respectable second to Art Collector (Bernardini). Returning to winning ways next out in Saratoga's 10-panel GI Alabama S. Aug. 15, the $35,000 KEESEP buy checked in second to GII Azeri S.-bound Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) in the GI Kentucky Oaks Sept. 4.

Trainer Ken McPeek felt confident enough in his charge to try her against males again in the GI Preakness S. Oct. 3 and she delivered with a gritty defeat of GI Kentucky Derby hero and eventual Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief). Swiss Skydiver completed 2020 with a disappointing and surprising seventh behind two-time champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland Nov. 7, but had already done more than enough to secure the Eclipse for top 3-year-old filly. She has been working well leading up to this seasonal bow, most recently breezing a best-of-39 five panels in :58 flat at Gulfstream Mar. 6.

Her biggest competition is likely to come from MGSW Harvest Moon (Uncle Mo). Graduating at second asking when switched to the dirt in July, she scored a decisive optional claimer victory next out at Del Mar three weeks later and captured the GIII Torrey Pines S. there in August. Winning the GII Zenyatta S. at Santa Anita Sept. 27, the bay checked in fourth last out in the Distaff.

Bob Baffert saddles two in this event in As Time Goes By (American Pharoah) and Golden Principal (Constitution). Out of MGISW and blue hen Take Charge Lady (Dehere), As Time Goes By graduated at third asking going six furlongs at Los Alamitos Dec. 13 and romped by nine lengths next out over track and trip Jan. 17. Capturing a Del Mar optional claimer at this distance Nov. 27, Golden Principal completed the exacta in both the Dec. 26 GI La Brea S. and the Feb. 133 GII Santa Monica S.

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A Decade Later, Zenyatta Still Racing Royalty

Whether you choose to believe them or not, people always said that she knew where the finish line was. And there was never any denying the intelligence of four-time Eclipse champion and Horse of the Year Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}).

She was quirky and a bit high-strung, and she made a hobby out of throwing exercise riders in the mornings. Her dance when she hit the track during warmup, whether it was to toy with her fans or to release adrenaline, and her ability to switch gears as she weaved between foes and charged down the lane towards the wire were all the elements that made Zenyatta, well, Zenyatta.

Now almost 10 years since that heart-wrenching day at Churchill Downs that kept her just short of a 20-race perfect record, the 16-year-old broodmare still has the same bright eye and the presence of a champion.

“Zenyatta’s probably the most intelligent horse on the farm,” said Jenn Laidlaw, the broodmare manager at Lane’s End Farm. “She knows that she’s important and she knows who she is. She has a real presence about her.”

The Hall of Famer can spot a camera from a mile away and when she spies someone approaching her paddock, she presents her hind end to the fence and awaits expectantly for a good scratching, pawing impatiently if it is not received in a timely manner.

Zenyatta’s exceptional talent on the track has yet to be seen in her offspring, with her first foal Cozmic One (Bernardini) running unplaced in five starts, but now succeeding in the show ring. Her other son Ziconic (Tapit) also never visited the winner’s circle.

But in the next few years, there is new opportunity for Zenyatta’s progeny to succeed.

Her daughter Zellda, a 3-year-old filly by Medaglia d’Oro, is in training under John Shirreffs and recorded her latest breeze on July 13, going four furlongs from the gate at Del Mar.

And this year, a second daughter arrived to carry on the family name.

Zenyatta foaled a filly by Candy Ride (Arg) on May 17.

“She’s been a superstar since day one,” Laidlaw said of the foal. “She popped up and started walking within an hour. She’s been healthy. She’s been happy. She hasn’t put a foot wrong since she’s been here. She’s got a great body and is a fairly correct foal, really typical for a Candy Ride. She’s probably my favorite of Zenyatta’s foals.”

Laidlaw added that this filly has the same gregarious personality as her mother.

“She knows who she is,” she said. “She’ll stand, she’ll pose, she knows when the camera is on her. She enjoys being groomed and she enjoys everybody giving her attention.”

Laidlaw has held various positions at Lane’s End over the last 10 years and has been present for Zenyatta’s entire broodmare career.

“With a foal at foot, she’s a great mom,” Laidlaw said. “She loves other foals. She usually has the other foals around her. She’s just a really smart mare and is great to be around.”

Laidlaw also said she enjoys witnessing the interaction between the champion mare and her adoring fans.

“When the fans get the opportunity to meet her, they’ll just start crying,” she said. “It’s really heartwarming to see how much she affected people’s daily lives and how much they love her. There are stories people tell you about how she’s helped them through situations or how she gave them motivation. We have a girl that works here and [Zenyatta] is what brought her into the industry. She absolutely loves this mare.”

Zenyatta was bred back to Candy Ride this year, and her filly this year will soon be weaned. The Hall of Famer isn’t in the spotlight quite as often nowadays as she was a decade ago, but she will always be racing royalty.

“I think Zenyatta being special is different for different people,” Laidlaw said. “Obviously she was a great race mare, but she just really got you excited every race she was in. She’s an outstanding horse for this industry, to bring people in and get them excited. Everybody loves her.”

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Una Bella d’Oro: Don Alberto’s New Golden Girl

It’s a toss-up, really, as to who made the bigger splash in 2017–the Don Alberto Corporation itself, or their superstar filly Unique Bella (Tapit).

Three years ago, Don Alberto Corporation continued their traditional annual shopping spree at the fall breeding stock sales, spending a combined $8.3 million at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, plus an additional $3.35 million in partnership purchases at the Keeneland November Sale.

Meanwhile, their $400,000 2015 Keeneland September purchase Unique Bella shone bright as a 3-year-old with four consecutive graded stakes wins and a later victory in the GI La Brea S., earning Don Alberto Stable their first Grade I win in the U.S., as well as an Eclipse Award for champion female sprinter.

No matter who stole the show, Don Alberto has defined itself as a force both at the sales and on the track in the United States, and Unique Bella played a major role in establishing this reputation.

“It’s very obvious that Unique Bella was the one that put Don Alberto on the map and put our silks out there,” Don Alberto’s Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo said. “She won the La Brea S. as a 3-year-old, and then coming back at four, the Beholder Mile S. and the Clement Hirsch S. So three Grade Is, including the first Grade I for Don Alberto.”

The daughter of champion sire Tapit retired in the summer of 2018 as a millionaire with eight graded stakes wins and two Eclipse awards to her credit. The towering gray filly was a fan favorite throughout her career and a top earner for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. She was sent to Don Alberto’s new farm in Lexington upon retirement. The former 440-acre Vinery Farm was purchased by Don Alberto in 2013.

The next year, she was bred to top Darley stallion Medaglia d’Oro, the sire of 25 individual Grade I winners including Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, dual Eclipse winner Songbird and Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot.

This January, the 6-year-old mare delivered her first foal.

Buffolo said that the foaling went perfectly and that their team is now ecstatic with the bright young filly.

“Her foaling was good, and Unique Bella was nice and kind to the foal,” he said. “We think she’s an outstanding filly. She has plenty of scope and she’s definitely growing the right way.”

The youngster comes from a family of powerhouse mares, and Buffolo said this one looks to fit that mold.

“She’s a pretty tall filly already,” he said. “She has plenty of leg. Soon we’re going to be looking to wean her. So it’s another step for her, but she’s a really good filly with a good temperament and we expect great things from her.”

The foal has been named, but where she might end up is still unknown.

“We named her Una Bella d’Oro,” Buffolo said. “We’ll see, she might go to the sale and she might not.”

The filly, who’s name translates to ‘a beautiful golden one’ in Italian, won’t live up to the “golden” part of her name in respect to her coat color, as she is developing her mother’s bright dapple gray coat more every day.

Buffolo reflected upon Unique Bella’s racing career and how her personality has changed as she transitioned into motherhood.

“On the track, you could see from her workouts…she wanted to go fast and there was no holding her back,” he said. “She just wanted to go and go and go. And that’s definitely a trait that is good to see on the good horses, right? They want to go no matter what.”

He continued, “I was involved with Royal Delta as well, and you see that with some of those mares, sometimes they want their own way and it’s whatever they want and you need to adjust to it. So Unique Bella is like that, but to be honest, she has settled quite a bit as a mom. She’s really quiet and gets along with her peers. She’s been pretty easy as a broodmare.”

Unique Bella has checked back in foal to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin for next year.

It’s an exciting time for the Don Alberto Corporation. Since their first expansion to the States in 2013, they are now starting to see some of the first products of their hard work.

“The engine has started working,” Buffolo said. “We know the mares and know more about how they are producing. We are getting better at matings because we know what we can do with them.”

While Don Alberto is still a relatively new name in the U.S., the corporation has been an international powerhouse for many years.

Their Chilean location, Haras Don Alberto, was founded in 1987. Liliana Solari and her son Carlos Heller Solari are the driving forces behind the business.

“Miss Liliana has a passion for horses and always loved the breeding,” Buffolo said. “She had a few good mares from her father, Alberto, and she started breeding on her own in Chile. It’s a long tradition there for them and it’s a big operation nowadays.”

Haras Don Alberto has leased a number of stallions for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season including Bluegrass Cat, Fusaichi Pegasus, Stevie Wonderboy, and Proud Citizen. They are also involved with WinStar’s Tourist (Tiznow) and the red-hot Constitution (Tapit).

Don Alberto Corporation is a subsidiary of Bethia Holdings, which holds interests in retail, television, health care, agriculture, and a variety of other businesses. They also own the local Chilean racetrack Club Hipico de Santiago.

The expansion to their United States location was all in pursuit of Don Alberto’s ultimate goal.

“The goal is to have successful horses in Chile, and then hopefully in the U.S.,” Buffolo said. “[The goal is] that they can be competitive anywhere.”

Their first U.S. Grade I winner in Unique Bella was one of the first fulfillments of that goal, and she will always be a favorite for the Solari family.

“Miss Liliana’s favorite thing is to bring carrots to Unique Bella,” Buffolo said. “They have a very strong emotional connection to the horses. They’re passionate not only about the breeding and racing, but about the animals as a whole.”

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