Kat’s Eye: Sight to Beholder on Santa Anita Backstretch

With two weeks until the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park, I’m getting to know contenders in some of the top races by attending morning workouts and sharing some time on the backside with trainers and teams.
This morning I started with Hall of Fame trainers Bob Baffert and Richard Mandella, whose barns are adjacent to one another and close to the path to the racetrack that is traveled by anyone headed to Clockers’ Corner and the grandstand.
But let me back up a minute. Arriving at Santa Anita is truly an experience. The sun had just come up as I pulled into the parking lot with my shiny new press parking pass affixed to the windshield of my car. It was my first time at morning workouts, and I found the park to be equally impressive, though not quite as intimidating, when it is empty.

When you exit the building and step into the grandstand, the view is absolutely amazing. This morning it was cool, with a faint haze hanging on the San Gabriel Mountains that rise behind the track. As I walked toward the rail, I was struck by the audience that was assembled and the number of horses already working.
The layout of a racetrack is not a mystery, so it was easy for me to find my way to the gap in the track and head to the backside, where a genial man who wished me “good morning” was happy to direct me to the Baffert barn. 

While Bob was still on the front side, his team was warm and welcoming and advised me that both Pennsylvania Stakes winner Bayern and FrontRunner Stakes winner American Pharoah would be heading out to gallop in just a few minutes.
As I got my bearings and turned to walk toward the track, I encountered a smiling Richard Mandella, who also was headed trackside to watch his horses work.

Thoroughbred racing is a family affair with the Mandellas, and Richard was accompanied by his son Gary, also an accomplished trainer, and his energetic and friendly grandson Josh. 

As we walked — and I struggled to keep up with the pace set by this group —  Richard shared with me that he and his son will be competing in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff with Gary’s entry, Valiant Emelia, set to challenge two-time champion and 2013 Distaff winner Beholder.
I followed the Mandellas as they headed toward the clubhouse, away from the more populated Clockers’ Corner. In the process, I spotted trainer Bob Baffert, who was moving toward a similar vantage point with some clients as their horses came out to work. 
Something that you notice immediately is the number of horses that carry a saddle blanket indicating they are trained by Bob Baffert. That, and the fact that Bayern has no real identifying marks, allowed him to gallop by with without my noticing. Thankfully, American Pharoah’s sparse tail makes him a little easier to pick out, and I was able to capture some photos of this handsome bay on the track.

Work quickly finished since I had arrived at the first break, and a fleet of tractors grooms the track before the more established horses exercise. As these men and their teams went about their daily routines, I walked back to their barns, enjoying the scenery.
The backside of Santa Anita is my favorite, with the individual barns resembling cottages, each with colorful gardens, connecting to one another like a storybook neighborhood you might expect to encounter on a movie set. It’s so perfect that I had to see it for myself in order to believe that the grounds, which were used when filming the HBO series “Luck,” actually existed.
Although Richard Mandella’s champion filly Beholder didn’t work this morning, she was happily munching on her breakfast in the stall just outside his office and greeted me eagerly when I said her name. 

Richard was attending to some paperwork in his office, accompanied by a large, gray cat who was playing with any loose item he could find on the desk. 

As Richard unwrapped a peppermint candy, Beholder’s head came up and she nickered softly, a polite request for her favorite treat. 
As I moved to give her the candy, Richard reminded me to keep track of all my fingers. She is stunning, with quiet manners and a friendly disposition, eager for her nose to be stroked.

I crossed over the path of the hot walkers to Bob Baffert’s row of stalls, where I found Bayern nonchalantly relaxing in his stall, gazing out the window that faced the walking path. 

I continued to roam around, looking for American Pharoah, and was tickled by the fact that the names of the horses were affixed to their stalls on a piece of masking tape. 
As I reached his stall and spoke his name, the beautiful 2-year-old immediately turned and thrust his head out of his stall to say hello.

He was curious about my camera, but stood quietly while I pet his head — calm and content.  He seemed to understand what the camera was about, which is good, because I think he’ll be getting a lot of attention in the coming year.

Regardless, I look forward to keeping up with these Breeders’ Cup contenders, and others, in the days leading up to the World Championships.