Tamara Makes Long-Awaited Return in Del Mar Allowance

She was the talk of Del Mar in the summer of 2023. The sleek, bay filly named Tamara stole the hearts of race fans, especially those who are nostalgic about the offspring of past champions.

But she was injured in the Breeders' Cup later in that year and has not raced in 2024. Her trainer, Richard Mandella, has brought her back slowly, and now she returns in a six-furlong allowance optional claiming race Nov. 15. She breaks from post 1 in a short field under Hall of Famer Mike Smith.

"She's doing good," Mandella says. "She's ready to race." 

Tamara is out of Beholder, a 2022 Racing Hall of Fame inductee and champion at ages 2, 3, 5, and 6. Raced by Spendthrift Farm, she was the popular winner of the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) over the boys in 2015 and the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in both 2013 and 2016, the latter one being among the most exciting Breeders' Cup races ever. 

So when Tamara debuted with a solid maiden win in August 2023, followed by an equally impressive 6 3/4-length victory in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1), visions of the second coming of her mother were being shared by race fans and pundits alike. 

Even Mandella, who also trained Beholder, saw something special in the filly. So much so that he entered her in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa Anita Park. She set the pace in the race before inexplicably fading to seventh place. A check on her afterward revealed a fractured splint bone in her left leg. 

Tamara was given time off to heal, and in April, Mandella tested her with a couple of two-furlong drills. Everything was pointing in the right direction for a return to the races, but Mandella, fearing he was moving too fast with her, backed off, keeping her in light training but skipping the Del Mar summer meet and the Santa Anita Park autumn meet. A spiked fever also contributed to her delayed return.

In recent weeks Mandella has begun to see what he's looking for in his Bolt d'Oro  filly.  

"Just see that they have their old style back," Mandella said. "The same ability. She seems to have that. A lot of good works so I think we're ready to go."

Mandella had hoped to run Tamara in an allowance race Nov. 10 at Del Mar, but it failed to fill. Instead, he put another work into her last week, and she rang up a bullet five furlongs in 1:01 1/5.