Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella was calm and, to borrow a Del Mar marketing phrase, “cool as ever” Sunday morning, about 12 hours after Beholder’s hard-fought loss to Stellar Wind in the Grade I $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.

 

“She came out of it good but tired,” Mandella said. “We knew (Stellar Wind) was a good filly but we didn’t expect that big of a race. We’re proud of (Beholder) that she ran so well.”

 

A Clement L. Hirsch win in 2015 proved to be a stepping stone to victory in the Grade I $1 million TVG Pacific Classic for Beholder. Mandella’s aim was for a repeat of that schedule and results this summer.  But things are not so clear after the 1:41.24 seconds it took for Stellar Wind to end Beholder’s eight-race winning streak and hand the 6-year-old Henny Hughes mare only her second loss in her last 14 starts.

 

“It’s going to make me think about the Classic,” Mandella said. “The reason I said last year we were going to run in the Classic was because everything went perfectly. It didn’t go perfectly this year. I’m not saying no, but now it’s something I’m going to have to think about and see how she is.”

 

Beholder will now get three or four days of rest. Mandella said he might make the decision on her next start late next week.

 

Owner B. Wayne Hughes of Spendthrift Farm was in from Lexington, Ky. for the race.

 

“I think he likes winning better,” Mandella said. “But he was great, very good about it. He’s run enough horses to know that the only way to be sure not to get them beat is to keep them in the stall.  That’s why we have to go run them.  It was pretty obvious how great the other ran, and you can’t take that away from her.”

 

 

 

Stellar Wind’s victory in the Clement L. Hirsch came on the occasion of trainer John Sadler’s 60^th birthday. “You usually don’t get what you want on your birthday, but this year, I did,” Sadler said in the winner’s circle after the race.

 

Considering the elements – a milestone number for Sadler; a $180,000 winner’s share of the purse that moved the 4-year-old daughter of Curlin over the $1 million mark in career earnings; and a “Win and You’re In” berth in the $2 million Longines Distaff at Santa Anita on November 4 – the celebration was, by Sadler’s account, subdued.

 

“Just went out for a little early dinner and one margarita at Casa De Bandini on Leucadia Boulevard, that was it,” Sadler said. “We had a busy morning ahead this morning so it was an early night.”

 

Stellar Wind, purchased privately by Hronis Racing LLC of brothers Kosta and Pete Hronis and in Sadler’s care throughout an Eclipse Award-winning 2015 campaign, turned the tables on Beholder from a loss in the Vanity on June 4 at Santa Anita.

 

The goal is the Breedes’ Cup Distaff, a race she lost by a neck last season. And  Sadler hasn’t shown any inclination to stray from a set plan.

 

“We’ll probably just wait for the Zenyatta and then the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which has been on her schedule all along.,” Sadler said. “I’m not tempted with the Pacific Classic. We’ll probably be more tempted with Hard Aces now for the Classic.”

 

Jockey Victor Espinoza positioned Stellar Wind closer to Beholder from the start than had been the case in the Vanity and, never more than a length behind, they prevailed in a hard stretch duel.

 

“That (race strategy) was up to Victor,” Sadler said.  “He knows her. He’s been on her all the time. I was hoping we’d be close because with a small field it looked like it would be that kind of race.”

A look at the split times in California Chrome’s victory in the San Diego Handicap on July 23 and Stellar Wind’s in the Clement L. Hirsch. Both races were at 1 1/16 miles on the main track.

 

California Chrome   :23.47, :47.02, 1:10.51, 1:34.49 and a final of 1:40.84.

Stellar Wind             :23.63, :47.38, 1:10.70, 1:34.88 and a final of 1:41.24.

 

The races were run similarly, with the two standouts in each – California Chrome and Dortmund in the San Diego, Beholder and Stellar Wind in the Clement L. Hirsch – positioned 1-2 from the outset and dueling head-and-head down the stretch to a stirring finish.

 

 

 

Big League, a 2-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Speightstown owned by Rockingham Ranch and trained by Peter  Miller, was an impressive 3 ½-length winner debuting in Saturday’s third race under Norberto Arroyo, Jr. in 1:03.48 for  5 ½ furlongs.

 

“It looked like he did it pretty easily and he came out of it well,” Miller said Sunday morning. “He’s definitely a Futurity candidate but we’re looking at the Best Pal first.”

 

The 6 ½-furlong Grade II $200,000 Best Pal is Saturday, August 13, the seven-furlong Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, closing day of the summer meeting.

           

As he had indicated he would, trainer David Hofmans scratched Bluegrass Bronco from Sunday’s featured Grade I $300,000  Bing Crosby Stakes.

 

The field for the 71^st running of the six-furlong event named for the track founder, which often determines the sprint champion of the meeting, was thus reduced to eight.

 

From the rail out: Justin Squared (Martin Pedroza, 15-1), Subtle Indian (Mike Smith, 5-2), Dream Saturday (Martin Garcia, 6-1), Indexical (Santiago Gonzalez, 10-1), Kaabraaj (Edwin Maldonado, 20-1), Home Run Kitten (Joe Talamo, 8-1), Lord Nelson (Flavien Prat, 2-1) and Alsvid (Chris Landeros, 5-1).

Wake Up Nick (2014) and Mrazek (2015) won the last two runnings of the Graduation Stakes for the connections of owner J. Paul Reddam, trainer Doug O’Neill and jockey Mario Gutierrez.

 

In Wednesday’s 65^th running of the $100,000, 5 ½ furlong sprint for California-bred two-year-olds, that trio will try to make it three in a row with Green With Eddie, a Square Eddie colt coming in off a runner-up finish to  California Diamond in the Santa Anita Juvenile on July 9 at Santa Anita.

 

Reddam and O’Neill have an additional opportunity with Sizzlin Square, a maiden winner at Santa Anita on July 2.

 

The field from the rail: Sizzlin Square (Flavien Prat), Tchula Sunset (Mike Smith), California Diamond (Edwin Maldonado), Dutt Bart (Kent Desormeaux), Milton Freewater (Rafael Bejarano), Exotic Ghost (Santiago Gonzalez) and Green With Eddie (Mario Gutierrez).

 

 

CLOSERS –  California Chrome trainer Art Sherman on Stellar Wind’s upset of Beholder in the Clement L. Hirsch: “Everybody gets beat in this game as we all know. I felt sorry for her (Beholder) to lose, but she ran a hell of a race” … In addition to Stellar Wind, jockey Victor Espinoza also won Saturday on Tribalist ($5.80) in the fifth race and is tied for fourth with Rafael Bejarano in the jockey standings with eight wins … Del Mar-based riders  will be aboard half the field, coincidentally the three morning line favorites, in Sunday’s $1 million Grade I Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Mario Gutierrez will ride Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist (6-5), Kent Desormeaux will be in the irons for Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator (5-2) and Rafael Bejarano on American Freedom (3-1).  Bejarano has four scheduled mounts before the Haskell (approximate post time 2:47 Pacific), Gutierrez and Desormeaux one preliminary mount each … Selected workouts from 229 officially timed on the main track and 29 on turf Sunday morning: Dirt -- Little Curlin (4f, :49.80), Ohio (4f, :49.20), Stays In Vegas (4f, :49.80), Masochistic (5f, 1:00.40), Majestic Kitten (6f, 1:11.0); Turf – Monster Bea (4f, :50.00), Nancy FromNairobi (4f, :52.00), Shrinking Violet (4f, :48.60), Elektrum (5f, 1:03.20), Entrechat (5f, 1:02.60), Obviously (5f, 1:00.20), Havana Belle (6f, 1:16.00) and Power Ped (7f, 1:29.80).

(Current Through Saturday, July 30, 2016 Inclusive)

Jockey	Mts	1st	2nd	3rd	Win%	In-money%	Money Won
Flavien Prat	69	15	9	4	22%	41%	$723,730
Santiago Gonzalez	60	10	8	11	17%	48%	$404,874
Tyler Baze	69	9	10	12	13%	45%	$598,403
Rafael Bejarano	50	8	9	10	16%	54%	$588,796
Victor Espinoza	24	8	4	3	33%	63%	$644,473
Kent Desormeaux	54	7	13	8	13%	52%	$532,405
Mario Gutierrez	34	6	5	3	18%	41%	$344,192
Stewart Elliott	37	5	2	1	14%	22%	$167,080
Norberto Arroyo, Jr.	22	3	4	4	14%	50%	$139,060
Gary Stevens	18	3	4	1	17%	44%	$317,020

 

 

(Current Through Saturday, July 30, 2016 Inclusive)

Trainer	Sts	1st	2nd	3rd	Win%	In-money%	Money Won
Philip D'Amato	26	6	6	4	23%	62%	$547,271
Mark Glatt	16	6	3	4	38%	81%	$209,350
John W. Sadler	18	6	2	4	33%	67%	$458,100
Peter Miller	33	5	3	6	15%	42%	$285,830
Richard Baltas	19	4	3	4	21%	58%	$249,976
Doug F. O'Neill	42	3	5	5	7%	31%	$204,715
Bob Baffert	21	3	5	2	14%	48%	$257,320
Brian J. Koriner	11	3	4	1	27%	73%	$150,535
Jerry Hollendorfer	24	3	3	2	13%	33%	$212,634
Steven Miyadi	11	3	2	2	27%	64%	$111,205

 

 

(Current Through Saturday, July 30, 2016 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 34 out of 106 -- 32.08%

Winning favorites on dirt -- 23 out of 69 -- 33.33%

Winning favorites on turf -- 11 out of 37 -- 29.73%

Winning odds-on favorites -- 6 out of 11 -- 54.55%

In-the-Money favorites -- 75 out of 106 -- 70.75%

In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 9 out of 11 -- 81.82%

 

 Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793