Garrett Gomez was not impressed. The Eclipse Award-winning jockey rode a 21-1 shot for trainer Richard Mandella in a maiden sprint at Hollywood Park in June. She finished fourth, beaten nearly 9 lengths. Three weeks later, Gomez was impressed, when Beholder took over.
“The first time she ran, she didn’t run all that great and she was a little bitty thing,” Gomez said. “Richard doesn’t get them cranked first time out, he lets them find their way, with this filly, for some reason, from the first time to the second time she ran, she almost left me in the gate, I was like, ‘holy cow,’ I found myself three in front leaving there. She was one-dimensional, gone.”
Owned by Spendthrift Farm, Beholder won, cruising to a 3 ¼-length win going 5 ½ furlongs at Hollywood. She lost the Del Mar Debutante by a nose in her second start and won a 6-furlong allowance race by 11 in her fourth start. Mandella, in the Hall of Fame for tinkering, continued to tinker with the daughter of Henny Hughes, trying to cajole her to accept her first assignment around two turns.
“We were kind of iffy about the two turns, just with her breeding and the way she had been doing things,” Gomez said. “About two weeks before the Breeders’ Cup, she started to change, Richard saw a big change in her. I worked her a couple of times and we were able to slow her down and not have her so speed crazy.”
She wired seven rivals to clinch a championship and has been a different filly ever since.
“After she ran two turns in the Breeders’ Cup, it was like her whole mindset changed,” Gomez said. “She’s fast, we just try to get her to settle a little bit and relax. I worked her one morning and took her off one horse and she actually settled really well, I came back and Mandella was glowing from ear to hear because he was so happy to see her be able to do that and not just be one dimensional.”
Freshened after the Breeders’ Cup, Beholder returned to finish second in the Santa Ynez going 6 ½ furlongs before winning the Las Virgenes and Santa Anita Oaks. Still carrying the mail, Beholder has slowed her half-mile splits from 44 seconds in her allowance win in October to 47 in her Santa Anita Oaks win. She’ll try to stretch her speed another sixteenth of a mile in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks.
“I’ve worked her since then where I’ve put her behind horses, I’ve sat back three, four, five, I’ve broke off with a horse and drug her back, then zoomed in and out of the dirt, just test driving and she’s handled things really well,” Gomez said. “Even her last work, we went with her workmate and I drug her back off the horse, she settled, when we turned for home, I eased up and cruised on by her, she went seven eighths of a mile and she worked really well.”
Beholder faces a stern test in the $1 million stakes, taking on Dreaming Of Julia, winner of the Gulfstream Park Oaks by 21 lengths and undefeated trio Midnight Lucky, Unlimited Budget and Close Hatches from the deep and powerful stables of Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher and Bill Mott. Seven out of the 10 runners stalked or set the pace in their most recent races, all wins. But none have faced the depth of classy speed that Beholder possesses.
“She pops the gate, she’s quick leaving there, that’s one of her weapons and I’m not taking that away from her,” Gomez said. “There is more speed in here, we might have to go to a different plan as we head up the front side, but as far as when she leaves there, we’re going to let her rock and roll out of there. She’s gotten pressure, she can handle the pressure. It’s just a matter of what happens outside me and how she handles it. As I said, we’ve done a lot of work with her and I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. Hopefully, she handles it.”
Gomez will be assertive but aboard Beholder, knowing that the first quarter mile is crucial in her ability to handle 9 furlongs. If someone wants to contest the pace, Gomez will try to cajole her into thinking it’s her idea.
“It’s just a matter of what trip we work out,” Gomez said. “It’s my job to figure that out and get along with her and keep her in a good state of mind.”
