All Eyes Are on Splendora in Beholder Mile

Already a powerhouse in one-turn graded stakes, Splendora  looks to extend her graded stakes dominance to two turns in the $300,000 B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Stakes (G1) at 1 mile over the Santa Anita Park main track March 7.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the 5-year-old daughter of Audible  is coming off a 1 3/4-length victory in the 7-furlong D. Wayne Lukas Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita. Her first start of the year was won comfortably, having no challengers in the late stretch. Last fall at age 4, she won the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), another one-turn, 7-furlong race, at Del Mar. In her lone attempt at a two-turn mile, Splendora won the ungraded Tranquility Lake Stakes at Del Mar Sept. 1, and she twice finished second in graded company at distances beyond a mile.

Owned by Boyd Racing and By Talla Racing, Splendora has six wins from 11 starts and earnings of $980,800.

Baffert also sends out Nafisa . In her last start, she won the Jan. 24 La Canada Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita by 4 3/4 lengths. The 5-year-old mare is looking to make it four wins in a row—after breaking her maiden on the 13th try, she has not lost since. The daughter of Quality Road   is owned by Zedan Racing Stables, who, via bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, purchased her for $1.8 million at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale in Upstate New York in 2022. 

The Baffert duo faces two eastern shippers: Dazzling Move , trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., and Bless the Broken , trained by Brad Cox.

The latter's lone start as a 4-year-old came Jan. 9 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, where she won an allowance optional claiming race by 2 lengths. As a 3-year-old, she was third in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs for different ownership and trainer Will Walden. The Qatar Racing and Mountmellick Farm-owned Laoban filly was a $950,000 purchase from Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in Kentucky last fall.

Gas Me Up, EL Potente Meet again in Kilroe Mile

Later on the card at Santa Anita, Gas Me Up  and El Potente  square off again in the $200,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G2T) on the Santa Anita turf. 

El Potente, trained by Dan Blacker, is coming off a 3 3/4-length victory at Santa Anita in the Feb. 7 Thunder Road Stakes (G3T), which he won for the second year in a row. The 7-year-old son of Temple City  owned by My Way Racing has seven wins from 17 starts.

Gas Me Up, trained by Peter Eurton for owners Exline-Border Racing, Michael Jawl, Aaron Kennedy, and Tom Zwiesler, looks to even the score on El Potente after running second to him in the Thunder Road. The 6-year-old son of Hard Spun   won his first start back with Eurton, the Joe Hernandez Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Dec. 29. Eurton had him as a 2-year-old before the gelding was moved to trainer Kevin Attard. Under Attard's training, he won the 2025 King Edward Stakes (G2T) and competed in the 2025 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), running seventh.

Also in the field is Almendares , most recently third in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) at Gulfstream Park. The 6-year-old son of Havana Grey  is back in the West Coast-based stable of Phil D'Amato in search of his first graded victory. He has eight graded placings and a minor stakes win in the 2025 Wickerr Stakes.

The Frank E. Kilroe Mile is the ninth race preceding the historic Santa Anita Handicap (G1).