At Del Mar in the $300,750 Clement L. Hirsh Stakes (G1), fan-favorite and race-favorite Beholder ran three-wide down the backstretch, moved between horses going around the final turn to take a slight lead, and then kicked clear and blasted down the stretch to win the race by an impressive seven lengths.
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| Beholder, with jockey Gary Stevens riding, looked impressive in her seventh-length victory in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar on Saturday, Aug. 1. (Photo by BenoitPhoto.com) |
Rounding out the field was My Sweet Addiction fourth, followed by Honey Ride, My Monet, Legacy, and Thegirlinthatsong.
Beholder ran the 1-1/16th-mile race on the dirt track rated fast in 1:4.81.
"She's just amazing; she's scary," said Stevens. "I worked her the other day and got off and said, 'Boss (to trainer Richard Mandella), I don't know how this is possible, but I think she's getting better.' She's improving and things are getting easier for her. She went from being a cantankerous kid to a laid-back grandma.
"I told Richard I was just going to let her fall out of there (the gate) today and see where I was going into the first turn. That we'd figure it out from there. We had a spot and they slowed it down on us. Finally, I just said, 'That's it," and I let her go. Her acceleration just put us in front without really trying. The race was effectively over at the six and a half (furlong pole). She's just too much. This isn't work. I'll tell you. This is fun."
Added Mandella, "… I was glad to see that she got out of the inside and got in the clear where she wouldn't be compromised in her chance to win anyway. Gary did a masterful job of doing that and when they went down the backside, it looked like poetry."
With the win, Beholder, a 5-year-old by Henny Hughes-Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek, now has 13 wins, three seconds and $3,656,000 in earnings in 18 career starts.
In addition, the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes is a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" race, so she earned a starting spot in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland on Oct. 30.
After the race, Mandella laid out the future possible plans for Beholder, which could take the two-time Eclipse award winning filly to a race against "the boys" in just three weeks.
"We may take a look at the $1 million Pacific Classic (G1) (Saturday, Aug. 22 at Del Mar)," he said. "It has been in the back of my mind for a while. The timing is good. We're far enough away from the Breeders' Cup to do it too. The question will be that it's three weeks (to the race) and will she look good enough to o that. It'll be up to her and (owner) Mr. (B. Wayne) Hughes, obviously. I'll have to get his approval."
At Saratoga on Saturday in the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2), a race for 3-year-olds, last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, Texas Red, returned to the winner's circle after holding off a hard-charging Frosted for a half-length win.
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| Texas Red, right, returned to his winning ways on Saturday, Aug. 1, as he won the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga with jockey Kent Desormeaux riding. (Photo by Coglianese Photos) |
For Texas Red, who had showed so much promise heading into this year's Triple Crown races until an abscess in his right front foot sidelined him, it was an impressive victory.
"He just gallop along to the quarter poll," said winning jockey Kent Desormeaux in an Aug. 1, Bloodhorse.com article. "I had so much left that I got to the (front) quicker than I thought I would. He kind of idled on the lead a little bit that last three sixteenths of a mile, but when challenged (by Frosted) he had tons left. The most encouraging thing about the entire ride was the energy left galloping out. I think I'm sucking more wind that he is from the race."
Texas Red ran the 1-1/8th-mile race on the dirt track rated fast in 1:48.77. He now has three wins, three seconds, one third and $1,692,300 in eight career starts. His last win came in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November at Santa Anita.
Texas Red is trained and co-owned by Keith Desormeaux, Kent's brother. The other co-owners are Erich Brehm, Lee Michaels, Wayne Detmar and Gene Voss.
In other stakes races at Saratoga on Saturday:
* Holy Boss (Street Boss-Holy Grace, by Holy Bull), with jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. riding, won the $200,000 Amsterdam Stakes (G2). He is owned by Jerry Durant and trained by Steve Asmussen.
* Rock Fall (Speighttown-Renda, by Medaglia d'Oro), with jockey Javier Castellano riding, on the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1). He is owned by Stonestreet Stables and trained by Todd Pletcher.
* Red Rifle (Giant's Causeway-May Night, by Gulch), with Castellano riding once again, won the $250,000 Bowling Green Handicap (G2). He is owned by Twin Creek Racing Stables and trained by Pletcher.
(Information provided by EquiBase.com, BloodHorse.com, DMTC.com, NYRA.com, and PedigreeQuery.com)
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