As a daughter of Breeders' Cup legend Beholder, the spotlight has been on Tamara from the start. And based on her first two races, the filly is ready for one of racing's most dazzling events.
Spendthrift Farm homebred Tamara will enter the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 3 at Santa Anita Park off a 6 3/4-length romp in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) Sept. 9, an effort that followed her clear victory in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden race in August at Del Mar. Tamara's Racing Hall of Fame trainer Dick Mandella, who also trained three-time Breeders' Cup winner Beholder for Spendthrift, said there are differences between mother and daughter but they share a most important trait for racing: talent.
"Beholder was quite a bit bigger, especially once she got going toward her 3-year-old year. She really grew. But she was kind of a Quarter Horse-looking filly as a 2-year-old," Mandella said. "This filly resembles her in some ways, but in other ways not. But, like I say, the mechanics work. She gets around there pretty good.
"(Tamara) is just as sweet as she can be. They both love to train. Beholder was a handful sometimes. This filly is always very cooperative and sweet and does whatever you want to do with her. The likeness is that they can both run."
While Beholder continued her top form to age 6, closing her career that season at Santa Anita by edging Songbird to win her second Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in one of the great races in World Championships history, it's important to remember that she also showed precocity, enjoying a clear advantage throughout her one-length, front-end victory in the 2012 Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita.
Should Tamara land this year's edition of the Juvenile Fillies, Beholder would become the fifth Breeders' Cup winner to produce a Breeders' Cup winner, following Hollywood Wildcat, dam of War Chant; Personal Ensign, dam of My Flag, who in turn produced Storm Flag Flying; and Shared Account, dam of Sharing.
As if that weren't enough to suggest that Tamara is well-built for this race, keep in mind that her sire, Bolt d'Oro , finished third in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and Beholder's sire, Henny Hughes, placed second in the 2005 edition of that race. She'll try two turns for the first time in the Juvenile Fillies, stretching out from seven furlongs in the Del Mar Debutante.
Mandella, who also won the Juvenile Fillies with Phone Chatter and Halfbridled, said Tamara has been training well toward the Breeders' Cup.
"We had high hopes but she's kind of exceeded those each time she's run," Mandella said. "You try not to get yourself too excited until they show it to you. And she sure did a good job of that. ... I'd say she's ahead of Beholder, at this stage, because Beholder had some quirks about her mentally. And I didn't know that we could get her to go two turns until just a couple weeks before the Breeders' Cup."
Tamara's jockey is Mike Smith, who at age 58 will have an opportunity to become the oldest jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race. He already tops the charts as the leading jockey by Breeders' Cup wins, 27, and purse earnings, $38.3 million.
While Tamara and Smith await their date with destiny on the West Coast, a trio of fillies who registered grade 1 wins in New York and Kentucky are scheduled to visit.
Just F Y I, a homebred for George Krikorian, rallied four or five wide in the upper stretch on her way to a decisive victory in the Frizette Stakes (G1) in the slop at Aqueduct Racetrack Oct. 7. Trained by Racing Hall of Famer Bill Mott, who is looking for his first win in the Juvenile Fillies, the daughter of Triple Crown winner Justify landed her second win in as many starts in that grade 1 test during the Belmont at the Big A meet.
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Racing Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, also looking for his first Juvenile Fillies win, will send out Candied off her victory in the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 6 at Keeneland. Campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, the daughter of Candy Ride kept her record perfect in two starts by rallying from fifth to win the Alcibiades, contested at the 1 1/16-mile distance of the Juvenile Fillies. Pletcher also has entered grade 1-placed Life Talk in the Juvenile Fillies.
While Racing Hall of Famers will be well-represented in this field, young trainer John Ortiz is at the other end of the spectrum as he'll send out the first grade 1 winner of his career in Brightwork. The daughter of Outwork won her first four starts for WSS Racing, including a victory in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) Sept. 3 at Saratoga Race Course. She'll look to bounce back from an off-the-board finish in the Alcibiades.
Santa Anita Park, Friday, November 3, 2023, Race 6Entries: NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Candied (KY) Luis Saez 122 Todd A. Pletcher 4/1 2 2Jody's Pride (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Jorge R. Abreu 15/1 3 3Scalable (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Todd A. Pletcher 20/1 4 4Where's My Ring (KY) Victor Espinoza 122 Val Brinkerhoff 30/1 5 5Omaha Girl (KY) Umberto Rispoli 122 Jorge Delgado 30/1 6 6Chatalas (KY) Antonio Fresu 122 Mark Glatt 8/1 7 7Tamara (KY) Mike E. Smith 122 Richard E. Mandella 4/5 8 8Esprit Enchante (KY) Juan J. Hernandez 122 Peter Miller 20/1 9 9Brightwork (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 122 John Alexander Ortiz 12/1 10 10Accommodate Eva (LA) John R. Velazquez 122 Dallas Stewart 30/1 11 11Life Talk (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 122 Todd A. Pletcher 20/1 12 12Just F Y I (KY) Junior Alvarado 122 William I. Mott 8/1 13 13Alys Beach (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Thomas M. Amoss 30/1
