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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“She's out of training,” Mandella said. “It was a small crack in the splint bone, but it needed time to heal up. She'll start training again in about a week, but that won't give us enough time to make the Oaks. She'll be ready when she's ready.”

Mandella, however, has developed a worthy replacement in Kopion (Omaha Beach), who was an impressive winner of the GIII Santa Ynez S. Jan. 7. Mandella said the Feb. 4 GIII Las Virgenes S. will be her next target.

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Kopion broke smoothly from the Santa Ynez rail, but there was trouble just to her inside as 5-2 second-choice Tambo (Enticed) stutter stepped and stumbled. She was quickly left several lengths back as Kopion continued unbothered and under a hold while in front with authority. As the chestnut cruised through a :23.70 first quarter with her ears flicking back and forth, Tambo went outside horses and caught up with the short field.

Both Kopion and rider Flavien Prat had enough of the stalking Don't Bring Crazy (Maximus Mischief) by the :46.55 half as Prat imperceptibly gave the filly his blessing to let it out the smallest of notches. She quickly opened up and the race was over before the stretch as Kopion put 5 3/4 lengths on the field while Prat sat almost motionless and never asked her. It was clearly a special performance. Don't Bring Crazy held second over Tambo, who got up for third.

“Her trip was good,” said Prat. “She was a bit sharper today but she jumped well out of there and she looked around a bit when she was on the lead. Besides that she did everything perfect. It's always special when I ride for [Richard] Mandella.”

Kopion debuted Nov. 26 in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Del Mar with a sharp win and an 83 Beyer Speed Figure. Prat was aboard that day as well. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella and Prat also teamed up to win this race last year with Ice Dancing (Frosted); Prat was making it three in a row and four of the last six in the Santa Ynez with additional wins in 2022 with Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) and in 2019 with Bellafina (Quality Road). Just a week prior to Kopion's Santa Ynez, Mandella and Prat had joined forces to close out 2023 with Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah)'s win in the GII Joe Hernandez S. Forbidden Kingdom is co-owned by Spendthrift; Kopion is owned outright by the farm as a $270,000 Keeneland September buy.

“It looked like when she went out to the track she settled down, she warmed up nice, and went to the gate nice,” said Mandella about Kopion's first graded win. “She left there running and she kind of gave us that feeling when we were in the paddock. She showed her class.

“The only time she didn't work good was with Tamara; I can't explain it but she just didn't want any part of it.”

It was just a few months ago that Tamara (Bolt d'Oro)–a 'TDN Rising Star' and winner of the GI Del Mar Debutante S.–was the undisputed star of the crop for both Spendthrift and the Mandella barn. The daughter of the Spendthrift/Mandella multiple champion Beholder (Henny Hughes) has been sidelined since coming out of the Breeders' Cup with a fractured splint bone in her left hind leg.

#1 KOPION ($2.40) impressively wins the G3 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita under Flavien Prat for trainer Richard Mandella. Congratulations to @SpendthriftFarm on Kentucky Oaks points for this daughter of Omaha Beach. pic.twitter.com/dKKH1JrOJH

— TVG (@TVG) January 7, 2024

Pedigree Notes:

Much has been made of the perceived underperformance of the 2023 freshman sires in the graded department, but Omaha Beach finished top of the class for the year by both graded performers with four and black-type horses with 11 before coming out firing with his first graded winner in the first week of 2024. The MGISW son of War Front–like Kopion, also trained by Mandella–has 25 winners in his first crop and three black-type winners. In addition to Kopion's graded victory, his GSP-Ire daughter Launch finished second Sunday in Gulfstream's Glitter Woman S.

Kopian is out of a daughter of 1999 champion older horse Victory Gallop, reportedly still standing in Turkey at the age of 29 this year. Victory Gallop has 37 stakes winners as a broodmare sire.

From the prolific 'Ami' family, Kopion is a half to 2016 Canadian champion Amis Gizmo (Giant Gizmo) and to GSW & GISP Ami's Flatter (Flatter). Others in the immediate family include dual 2017 Canadian champion Ami's Mesa (Sky Mesa). Kopion's dam has a 2-year-old colt named Authentic Gallop (Authentic), a yearling filly by Essential Quality, and was bred to Uncle Mo for this term. The juvenile was a $300,000 Keeneland September buy by Greg Tramontin.

Galloping Ami was honored with Canada's Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare for 2016; her full-sister, Victorious Ami, was given the same award for 2017.

Sunday, Santa Anita
SANTA YNEZ S.-GIII, $98,000, Santa Anita, 1-7, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:23.89, ft.
1–KOPION, 120, f, 3, by Omaha Beach
1st Dam: Galloping Ami (Outstanding Broodmare-Can), by Victory Gallop
               2nd Dam: Secret Ami, by Secret Claim
               3rd Dam: Sybelle Ami, by Alwasmi
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($270,000
Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Tall Oaks Farm
(KY); T-Richard E. Mandella; J-Flavien Prat. $60,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, $96,600. *1/2 to Aragorn Ami (Aragorn
{Ire}), SW, $112,535; 1/2 to Ami's Flatter (Flatter), GSW &
GISP, $536,931; 1/2 to Amis Gizmo (Giant Gizmo), Ch.
3-year-old Colt-Can, GSW, $800,022. Werk Nick Rating: B.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or the free
Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
*1st graded winner for first-crop sire (by War Front).
2–Don't Bring Crazy, 120, f, 3, Maximus Mischief–Lily Maria,
by Paynter. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($60,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $140,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP).
O-Mark Davis; B-Mullikin Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Doug F.
O'Neill. $20,000.
3–Tambo, 120, f, 3, Enticed–Flatter Me First, by Flatter. 1ST
GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($29,000 Ylg '22 KEEJAN; $25,000 Ylg
'22 KEESEP; $70,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-SAF Racing,
Neil A. Haymes, James E. McCadden, and William Strauss;
B-Thoroughbred by Design LLC (KY); T-Peter Eurton.
$12,000.
Margins: 5 3/4, 4 3/4, 5 3/4. Odds: 0.20, 16.00, 2.90.
Also Ran: Bossy Bruin Gal. Scratched: Petit Filet.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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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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The very domination of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) will likely have put the colt at the head of the class for champion 2-year-old honors, and the Repole Stable homebred looked good Saturday morning.

“We were extremely happy with the way Fierceness ran,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “The race kind of unfolded the way we envisioned it would. We wanted to get involved and get to the first turn in good position, which he was able to do. Just a powerful performance.”

'Rising Star' Locked (Gun Runner) looked to be going nowhere at short odds on the Juvenile, but got going late to finish a respectable third.

“Locked got shuffled back a little more than we wanted and then got stuck inside,” Pletcher said. “There was a lot of kickback. I thought once he kind of got into the clear down the lane he started closing pretty well. At that point, the race had kind of gotten away from him. He was a couple strides away from being second, but he just had too much to do at that point.”
Pletcher said both colts will return first to Churchill Downs before shipping to the trainer's South Florida base at Palm Beach Downs to chart a course towards the new year.

There will be no such gray area where it comes to the Eclipse Award-winning juvenile filly after George Krikorian's Just F Y I (Justify) stamped her authority on her race Friday, lowering the colors of the previously undefeated divisional front-runner 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro). If he wasn't totally surprised that his filly proved best, he was slightly taken aback with the way she did it.

“She actually showed a bit more early speed than I expected,” Mott said. “She put herself right up there, which was great.”
The connections of Tamara confirmed that she emerged with a 'small knot' and the back of her rear hind.

“We'll take a look at it and see what it is,” said trainer Richard Mandella. “That will determine whether we may need to give her a rest. I could see at the half-mile pole that she wasn't running her race. I thought Mike (Smith) would have a tight hold on her.”

Chad Brown said that Hard to Justify, who gave her sensational young stallion a second straight Breeders' Cup winner on Friday in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, would get a rest with an eye on her sophomore season.

European horses unsurprisingly made their presence felt in the afternoon's other grass races. Big Evs (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) gave her sire, trainer Mick Appleby and jockey Tom Marquand their first Breeders' Cup winner with their first starter.

“It hasn't sunk in yet, it really is a dream come true,” trainer Michael Appleby said. “I'm still pinching myself. It was the best day of my career and I'm just so proud of all my team at home, Tom Marquand and Big Evs's owners Rachael and Paul Teasdale.”

Trainer Aidan O'Brien was dealt a disappointing blow when River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) was withdrawn from the Juvenile Turf Friday morning, but the team was mollified some when Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) validated favoritism in the final Breeders' Cup event of the day.

“It's very tough to win here, but I'm delighted for the lads as they put so much into it,” O'Brien said. “It's hard to explain because when things start bad like what happened with River Tiber as it usually goes down because there are a lot of areas you can't control.”

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Just F Y I wins the $1 Million @NetJets #BreedersCup Juvenile Fillies on #FutureStarsFriday at @santaanitapark! Congrats to all of her connections! pic.twitter.com/q2BRPmF895

— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 3, 2023

Friday, Santa Anita Park
NETJETS BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES-GI, $1,840,000, Santa Anita, 11-3, 2yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.58, ft.
1–JUST F Y I, 122, f, 2, by Justify
         1st Dam: Star Act (SP, $147,605), by Street Cry (Ire)
         2nd Dam: Starrer, by Dynaformer
         3rd Dam: To the Hunt, by Relaunch
O/B-George Krikorian (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $1,317,750. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Jody's Pride, 122, f, 2, by American Pharoah
         1st Dam: Jody's Song, by Scat Daddy
         2nd Dam: Speightful Lady, by Speightstown
         3rd Dam: England's Rose, by Nureyev
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Parkland Thoroughbreds and Sportsmen Stable; B-Mr. Steve Weston (KY); T-Jorge R. Abreu. $340,000.
3–Candied, 122, f, 2, by Candy Ride (Arg)
         1st Dam: Toni Tools (SW, $193,339), by Roaring Fever
         2nd Dam: Patine, by Smart Strike
         3rd Dam: Burnish, by Menifee
($165,000 Ylg '22 FTKJUL). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners; B-Buck Pond Farm, Inc. (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $180,000.
Margins: NK, HF, 2 3/4. Odds: 7.00, 17.80, 2.80.
Also Ran: Life Talk, Scalable, Brightwork, Tamara, Where's My Ring, Chatalas, Accommodate Eva, Esprit Enchante, Omaha Girl. Scratched: Alys Beach.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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With defending winners Caravel (Mizzen Mast) (Turf Sprint), Cody's Wish (Curlin) (Dirt Mile), Elite Power (Curlin) (Sprint) and Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) (F/M Sprint) all back to defend their titles, the two-day Championships–consisting of 14 races with purses and awards totaling more than $31 million–gets underway for a record 11th time at Santa Anita Friday.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s–welcome back to Southern California!–will be on the menu as the weekend kicks off with a 10-race, 'Future Stars Friday' program.

“This is what it's all about,” Santa Anita track announcer Frank Mirahmadi said. “The Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, there is nothing that's bigger than that in our game.”

All eyes will be on Spendthrift Farm's unbeaten 'Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) as she looks to emulate her larger-than-life-dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. A terrific field has been assembled for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, led by last-out GISWs and 'Rising Stars' Locked (Gun Runner), Timberlake (Into Mischief), and the Bob Baffert-trained duo of Muth (Good Magic) and Prince of Monaco (Speightstown).

Some of the headliners for the trio of wide-open 2-year-old turf races include: Royal Ascot G2 Coventry S. winner River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) (Juvenile Turf); GI Natalma S. heroine She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) (Juvenile Fillies Turf); and returning G2 Queen Mary S. winner Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) (Juvenile Turf Sprint).

Baffert will very likely be favored to secure a fifth win in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with 'Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) following the late defection and subsequent retirement of GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate). The $6-million feature also includes G1 Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) and GI Whitney S. winner White Abarrio (Race Day).

The GI Breeders' Cup Turf could arguably be the best race of the weekend. European heavyweights Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and King of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) will take on the best from these shores, led by Up to the Mark (Not This Time) in the 1 1/2-mile event.

Other high-profile runners in action this weekend include: Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (F/M Turf); Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) (Mile); and Idiomatic (Curlin) and Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) (Distaff).

The Breeders' Cup World Championships will be televised live by NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV.

For wall-to-wall coverage of all 14 Championship races, click here for Friday's preview edition and click here for Saturday's preview edition.

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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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Will this be Krikorian's year? Those were among the questions our team asked Krikorian on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

“I'm pretty excited to be here and to have this opportunity and with two horses,” he said. “This is the first time that's happened for me. So it's going to be a pretty special weekend.”

In War Like Goddess, Krikorian owns one of the biggest over achievers in the sport. She sold for $1,200 as a weanling before RNA'ing for $1,000 at Keeneland September 2018. She showed up next at the 2019 OBS June Sale, where bloodstock agent Donato Lanni convinced Krikorian to take a shot on the filly. He bought her for $30,000. All she's done since is earn $2,495,184 and win eight stakes, including three Grade I's.

“You have to give kudos to Donato Lanni because he called me one day and said, 'I've seen this horse and she should not be in this sale and she's going to be overlooked,'” Krikorian said. 'He said, I see in the future that she could be a very special horse.' I told him that I knew that he didn't mind taking the time it takes for a horse to develop. And so that's exactly what we did. We took our time. Just as he predicted, she turned out to be an incredible horse.”

George Krikorian Joins the TDN Writers' Room from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.

Just FYI is 2-for-2 and coming off a win in the GI Frizette. Despite her strong credentials, this might be a tough spot for her and only because she'll have to take on Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), considered by many to be the most likely winner of any Breeders' Cup race.

“I know that Tamara is going to be a tough, tough horse,” Krikorian said. “The bottom line is you're challenged by any horse that's in a race like this. I think that Just FYI has shown to be a incredibly talented horse and I think that she's going to be a very tough competitor in that race.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, West Point Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com and 1/ST Racing, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss went through all the Breeders' Cup races, offering their insights and handicapping opinions. Both Moss and Finley loved longshot Roses for Debra (Liam's Map) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Moss had a less positive take on the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, calling this one of the weakest Classic fields ever assembled. Yet, everyone agreed that this might be the best field ever assembled for the Breeders' Cup Turf. Moss also made a compelling case why Elite Power (Curlin) should turn the tables on Gunite (Gun Runner) in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

To watch the podcast as a video, click here. For the audio version, click here.

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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.

The post A Pair of Queens for King’s Equine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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