Beholder to Return in Santa Lucia Stakes

Two-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder is set to make her return to racing in the $75,000 Santa Lucia Stakes April 10 at Santa Anita Park.



The 5-year-old mare by Henny Hughes is owned by Spendthrift Farm and was last seen racing Sept. 27 at Santa Anita, when she won the Zenyatta Stakes (gr. I) for the second straight year. Her 4-year-old campaign was cut short, however, when she was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) because of a sickness that caused a high temperature, high white blood cell count, and inflammation in her lungs. The Richard Mandella trainee also won last year's edition of the Santa Lucia, a 1 1/16 mile dirt test.



Mandella had previously said he was pointing the six-time grade I winner to the $300,000 Vanity Stakes (gr. I) May 9 at Santa Anita, but a tune-up in the Santa Lucia should not change that plan.

"We need to get her started and she's ready to run. We didn't need to wait a month to run her in the Vanity," Mandella said. "I wish we had a better race to run her in, but this is what we've got (a month ahead of the Vanity). My mare is in good shape. I don't think she's at the top of her game yet, but this race will put her there."



Beholder, bred in Kentucky by Clarkland Farm out of the Tricky Creek mare Leslie's Lady, has a 10-3-0 record from 15 career starts with more than $3.3 million in earnings. In to 2013, she was named champion 3-year-old filly with wins in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Zenyatta, Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I), and Las Virgenes (gr. I), along with a second-place finish in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) and Santa Ynez (gr. II). In 2012, she was named champion 2-year-old after a victory in the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I).



Since February, Beholder has worked every week at Santa Anita, gradually increasing distance. Her most recent breeze was seven furlongs in 1:26 4/5 April 2.



The only other graded stakes winner in the field of eight is Bob Baffert-trained Tiz Midnight, who last won in the Bayakoa Stakes (gr. II) Dec. 6 at Los Alamitos Race Course. The Midnight Lute   mare was also only three-quarter lengths behind in Beholder's last win in the Zenyatta.



Other entrants include Backintheacademy, Melanistic, Uzziel, Gusto Dolce, Oscar Party, and Sky Mega.