Beholder Breezing Steadily For Return
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Beholder's most recent workout March 13 at Santa Anita Park wasn't of the striking variety like her :59 five-furlong move March 6, but it wasn't intended to be.
The two-time champion and six-time grade I winner went out for an easy six furlongs in 1:14 Friday morning, still preparing for a likely appearance in the $350,000 Madison Stakes (gr. I) April 4 at Keeneland.
"Everything has been perfect so far," trainer Richard Mandella said of the 5-year-old mare by Henny Hughes. "Today was meant to be easy, to get some air in her. If we wanted to light the board up, we could do that, and she'd be happy to do that if we asked, but that's not how I train."
Off since her second straight score in the Zenyatta Stakes (gr. I) Sept. 27 at Santa Anita, Beholder was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) because of sickness that caused a high temperature, high white blood cell count, and an inflammation in her lungs.
Mandella sent the Kentucky-bred to Peacefield Farm in Temecula, Calif. to recover from the illness before bringing the Spendthrift Farm-owned mare back to Santa Anita to train in February.
Beholder has increased her workout distance since, with a four-furlong work (:48) Feb. 21, and two at five furlongs (1:00 1/5 and :59), before her breeze at three-quarters Friday morning.
Other notable six-furlong workouts Friday morning at the Southern California track came from likely $550,000 Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati Spiral Stakes (gr. III) entrants Metaboss and Conquest Typhoon. Both coming out of the El Camino Real Derby (gr.III) at Golden Gate Fields Feb. 14 (Metaboss the winner, Conquest Typhoon third), the pair would stay on synthetic footing for the 1 1/8-mile Spiral at Turfway Park March 21.
SHINAR: Metaboss Motors to El Camino Real Triumph
Mataboss, trained by Jeff Bonde, covered the six furlongs in 1:14 4/5, while Conquest Typhoon, conditioned by Mark Casse, breezed the distance in 1:13 4/5.