Smith Clings to Filly With Historic Possibilities

Mike Smith saved the day. This is not an exaggeration. Smith's lightning-quick reaction to the stumble of a 2-year-old filly leaving the gate in the seventh race at Del Mar Aug. 19 prevented a potential catastrophe. There is no telling what a riderless rookie breaking from the rail might have done, loose at the start of a 6 1/2-furlong race from the chute, with nine opponents arrayed to her right and the gap of the main track with a temporary rail looming to her left. Mike Smith saved the day not only because he somehow managed to stay on board the filly, whose knees nearly hit the ground at the break. He saved the day because of who he was riding and when it happened. Had Smith been dropped—and he had every right—a special celebration could have been spoiled and the afternoon could have turned bleak. Smith was riding Tamara, a daughter of four-time champion and first-ballot Hall of Famer Beholder, whose highlight reel includes an 8 1/4-length victory in the 2015 Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at Del Mar. Tamara was making her first start for Spendthrift Farm and Richard Mandella, the names behind Beholder. As Tamara and the rest of the field were making their way to the starting gate, a group had assembled near the winner's circle in preparation for a ceremony honoring the Hall of Fame induction of Fernando Toro. Once the post-race business following the maiden race was complete, Toro would take center stage to be presented his Hall of Fame plaque and navy blue blazer with its Hall of Fame crest by none other than Laffit Pincay Jr., 76, who has been a member of the Hall of Fame since 1975. Toro is 82 and rode his entire career alongside Pincay. It was also Bill Shoemaker's birthday. He would have been 92. And as long as we're on the subject, Smith turned 58 Aug. 10. He celebrated by hitting the gym, doing his roadwork, and winning a Del Mar maiden claimer by 8 3/4 lengths aboard the 2-year-old gelding Des Doigts for owner-trainer Wesley Ward. That one Smith could have done in his sleep. But Tamara is different. Tamara is royalty. From the moment she gave rise to hopes that she could be a real racehorse, Tamara has been the one among Beholder's offspring nurturing thoughts she might approach the lofty quality of her dam. All that is for later, though. First, Tamara had to get out of the gate in her first race, which she did in way too much of a hurry. As her knees buckled, Smith's arms stretched straight as he clung to mane. The filly was quick to get her front feet back on solid ground, but they were skewed to the right, which threw Smith's weight to the left. "I give her a lot of credit," Smith said. "She recovered fast, in barely a stride. And when she came back up I was able to stay centered, otherwise I could have lost my irons pretty easy. It could have been a whole lot worse." Remaining attached was an accomplishment in itself, but his work wasn't finished. Smith had to give his filly a stout right rein to straighten course. She overcorrected slightly, so Smith tugged just enough on the left rein, while allowing Tamara to establish her running stride. After assuring himself the filly was hitting well on all fours, Smith let her move up the rail into the thick of the field. "She wanted to go, but breaking from the rail like that going six and a half, she needed to cool it a little," Smith said. "Besides, Mr. Mandella had been working her inside and behind horses like that, so I knew she could take it." Tamara took it and loved it. Smith waited until he could outrun the fillies to his right before angling away from the rail and going after the favorite, Hope Road, a $575,000 daughter of Quality Road. As they passed the leader, Smith made sure the whip was in his left hand, just in case. Tamara, for her part, finished like a pro to win by 2 1/4 lengths. It could have been more, but who cares? Trainer Gary Mandella, who doubles as his father's assistant, was the first to greet Smith and Tamara after the race. "Mike was ecstatic about how well she ran," the younger Mandella said. "He's well aware how much this filly means to everyone involved with her, then for her to stumble and have that split-second thought of, 'Oh, man, I might come off!' And then how classy she was reacting to that. Some horses get themselves mentally out of their own game when that happens—kind of overreact in a nervous way, just grab the bit and charge. He was very relieved it happened the way it did." Tamara posed in the winner's circle like she was born there, and was thankfully clean-legged in the barn again. In stumbling, horses can overreach with their hind legs and grab a front foot, doing significant damage. "It was amazing she got up and did so well," Richard Mandella said. "But Mike's been at this for a while. He knows what he's doing." Mandella spent five seasons with Beholder, and she could be a handful, challenging and edgy by turns. At one point Mandella tried keeping her mellow with custom earphones that piped in soothing music. It turned out cotton worked better, and the trainer saved the headset for himself. It's natural to wonder if he sees anything of the mother in the daughter. "She's usually very nice," Mandella said. "But the day before the race she got a little ornery with the rider. And on Saturday, when I put Mike up she had a hump in her back." Translation: Stand back, boys, I'm about to unwind. "Other than that, we haven't seen the Beholder side yet," the trainer added. "My hope is that some of it comes out, but only the better part." Tamara is named for Tamara Gustavson, daughter of the late B. Wayne Hughes, who took Spendthrift Farm to the heights represented by champions like Beholder and Authentic. Eric and Tamara Gustavson, now the owners of Spendthrift, had to miss the debut of Tamara because of a family commitment. That did not mean they weren't tuned in from afar. "Eric does our naming almost exclusively, but he didn't even tell me he named the Beholder 2-year-old 'Tamara' until shortly before she ran," Gustavson said. "Much like her mother, the filly had lots of attitude. And more so than any of Beholder's previous foals, she looked quite a lot like her mom. That didn't make me necessarily think that meant she was going to be a runner, but it didn't hurt." The Del Mar Debutante (G1) Sept. 9 is a possibility for Tamara. But whether or not she makes that date, the sky seems to be the limit. "It's never too soon to have Beholder-inspired hopes and dreams for Tamara," Gustavson said. "It's not fair, of course, that we could ever have another one like Beholder. But my dad used to say one of his favorite things about the horse business is it keeps us always looking forward."