Beholder, Stellar Wind Back to Work

Richard Mandella looked down at his stopwatch June 19 at Santa Anita Park and all he could do was shake his head.

Wanting an easy half-mile breeze from Spendthrift Farm's Beholder in her first timed work since a victory in the Vanity Mile (gr. I), the final two clicks on his timer showed :35 and change for three furlongs and :47 and change for the half.

"It looked like :49 to me," Mandella said. "It looked like nothing. She's pretty amazing."

BALAN: Beholder Dominates Again at Santa Anita

Santa Anita clockers timed the three-time champion and 10-time grade I winner in :48 3/5 for the half-mile, which was actually a gallop-out time past the wire. The clockers had Beholder hitting the wire in :35 3/5.

It was a busy early session at the Southern California racetrack. With temperatures expected to reach the triple digits in the afternoon, many trainers sided with working early rather than risking it with warm temperatures later in the morning.

"I'm just a little concerned about the heat when she ran and the heat coming right now," Mandella said. "I've got plenty of time until (the grade I Clement L. Hirsch July 30 at Del Mar), so I'm not pressing too hard. She doesn't need it. She's had two races. She's ready to go."

Moments after, Vanity runner-up and fellow champion Stellar Wind also recorded a half-mile breeze as trainer John Sadler watched intently from the Santa Anita grandstand. The conditioner timed the Curlin   filly in :48 and track clockers recorded her trip in :47 4/5. Although Stellar Wind finished 1 1/2 lengths behind Beholder in the Vanity, Sadler was more than impressed with her first start off a more than seven-month layoff, considering the crawling fractions she was still able to close into.

"We were happy with her first race. Victor (Espinoza) was happy.  All things considered, the race was ridiculous," Sadler said of the opening half-mile in the Vanity, which featured fractions of :25.03 and :49.31. "What's the point of having sprinters in the race if they take a hold of them like that?"

As for the 2015 champion 3-year-old filly's next start, Sadler said he'll make a decision after her next work—likely five or six furlongs—but he didn't rule out a rematch with Beholder in the Hirsch.

"The only thing we have to decide is where we're going to go next," he said. "I know we'll look at the calendar at everything that's out there, but we'll really decide after her second work next weekend."

Also of note from the morning Sunday at Santa Anita:

• Last year's Triple Bend (gr. I) winner, Los Pollos Hermanos Racing and Jay Em Ess Stable's Masochistic, continued his work toward the Bing Crosby (gr. I) July 31 at Del Mar with an easy five furlongs from the gate in 1:01 flat. It was the speedy California-bred son of Sought After's seventh work of the year, but his first from the gate. "We've still got a ways to go," trainer Ron Ellis said. "We put Mike Smith on him for a half-mile (work June 5) and he went :45 4/5 just the same way. He's a really, really good work horse. The thing with him is just getting him to slow down."
• Trainer Gary Sherlock reported Preakness (gr. I) pacesetter Uncle Lino is still dealing with a soft-tissue leg injury he sustained in the May 21 race at Pimlico Race Course. Although long-term plans for the Uncle Mo   colt are tentative, Sherlock said Uncle Lino will get an extended rest before returning in the winter for a possible run in the Malibu (gr. I), if everything goes well.
• Other notable workers included 2015 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) runner-up Firing Line (four furlongs, :48 3/5) and four-time graded stakes winner Kobe's Back (five furlongs in 1:00 3/5)