Beholder to Take on the Boys

Dual Eclipse winner Beholder (Henny Hughes) will face males for the first time in her career in Del Mar’s GI Pacific Classic Aug. 22. A champion at both two and three, the Spendthrift Farm colorbearer has dominated the female division with 13 wins, seven of which were Grade Is, and over $3.6 million in earnings.

“I think when you come to a point when you’re winning in your own class so much, you probably ought to try something different,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “That’s what I’m doing. I don’t often do it, but I don’t often get one as good as Beholder. I think she deserves a chance to step up. It has been pretty easy for her for a year and she’s not over raced, so I think there’s nothing wrong in trying and I’m pretty confident in her. She’s pretty good.”

Beholder comes into the Pacific Classic off a seven-length romp in this venue’s GI Clement L. Hirsch S. Aug. 1.

Gary Stevens, Beholder’s regular pilot, has plenty of experience racing fillies against colts, with the most famous being his 1988 GI Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors. The Hall of Famer shares Mandella’s confidence in the 5-year-old’s ability to compete with males.

“I think it’s more their temperament and mental attitude going into it,” Stevens said. “I don’t think, obviously, Richard [Mandella] would have tried this as a 3-year-old. But we’ve talked about it in the past and she’s continued to mature and she’s to the point right now where she’s a total professional, a big, strong mare, and she can handle it.”

Stevens continued, “She’s got speed, as everybody knows. But she’s got that style now where I can do whatever I want to with her. She is capable of doing things that a lot of good colts I’ve ridden in my career weren’t capable of doing.”

The long range goal for Beholder this term is the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland Oct. 30. Stevens feels the spacing between the Pacfic Classic and the Distaff makes this the ideal time to try the bay against males.

“A lot of them that I’ve ridden against colts they’ve performed well, but it has knocked them out for a while, too,” Stevens said. “I think that’s a consideration, where she is right now and where she’s going to be. She has plenty of time to recover.”