Splendora Makes it Five in a Row in Beholder Mile

Randy and Jenny Boyd made their very first trip to Santa Anita Park March 7, and it couldn't have gone better. They had recently bought into Splendora , winner of the 2025 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), and she put on a magnificent display for them in taking the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Stakes (G1).

Riding a four-race winning streak, Splendora wasn't any surprise in the Beholder. Going into the race as the 1-10 favorite, the 5-year-old mare popped out of the gate on top for jockey Juan Hernandez. Bless the Broken  stuck to within a length of her for the first part of the race, but Splendora was ready to pull away from the field whenever Hernandez asked.

"She's really fast out of the gate," Hernandez said. "She was doing it really easy. Today the first fraction was just perfect for her."

Splendora completed the first quarter-mile in :23.49 and went on to fractions of :46.77 for a half-mile and 1:10.31 for 6 furlongs. She widened her advantage throughout the stretch, ultimately scoring by 5 3/4 lengths in 1:35.16. Bless the Broken finished second, with Om N Joy  rallying from the back of the pack early to get third.

Bob Baffert trains Splendora, whose current five-race win streak includes the Tranquility Lake Stakes, Breeders' Cup, and D. Wayne Lukas Stakes (G2). The Boyds own her with Michael Talla's By Talla Racing. Baffert was winning his second consecutive Beholder, having saddled Cavalieri  last year. He also trained 2022 Beholder winner As Time Goes By .

"Our CEO of Boyd Racing, Brittany Linton, reached out to Bob and found out that that Mike might have an interest in possibly selling a portion of Splendora," Randy Boyd said. "We were looking at buying a broodmare next fall, and thought this gives us an opportunity maybe to buy a year in advance and enjoy a year of racing as well."

Baffert said that the Boyds have also bought into Seismic Beauty , winner of the 2025 Santa Margarita Stakes (G2) and Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1).

"Last year we had our eye on Vahva," said Randy Boyd, who is the president of the University of Tennessee. "We were going to buy her at the November sale. In the Breeders' Cup, she came in second to Splendora. So now we have the first and second horse from the Breeders' Cup last year."

The Boyds bought Vahva for $3.1 million at the 2025 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

The Elkstone Group bred Splendora in Maryland from the Frost Giant mare Miss Freeze . Talla Racing and Rockingham Ranch purchased Splendora as a yearling out of the Brookdale Sales consignment for $125,000 at Fasig-Tipton's The July Sale in 2022.

Splendora and Feb. 14 Barbara Fritchie Stakes winner Passage East  were sired by Audible , a multiple graded stakes winner who ran third in the 2018 Kentucky Derby (G1). A son of perennial leading sire Into Mischief  , Audible stands at WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky., for a 2026 stud fee of $7,500.

Video: B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile S. presented by FanDuel (G1)