Beholder Mile (Grade 1)- $400.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
March 16, 2019

Somehow, Starlite Run went off at odds of 28/1 for the Beholder Mile. She had won five in a row, and was brought here by D J C Racing Stables, a trainer that has proven himself to be pretty good in this race. There were only five horses in the field, so it’s not as if there were a lot of options to choose from. We picked Starlite Run to win this race not because we were just deciding to pick any horse, but because she seemed like the best horse in a pretty strong field. This only happens when odds are pre-programmed by the game’s system that I don’t think many of us really understand. She was 30/1 in the morning line, and overall the odds didn’t change too much from that. It was a great run by this one too, winning by about two and a half lengths. Maybe now this sixth consecutive win of hers will lead to whatever system the game uses giving her a little more respect. Trainer D J C Racing Stables wins the race for the second year in a row, and the third time in five years. Jockey M Franco is a first time winner. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:35.00, a new stake record. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :23.89)- Starlite Run wastes no time jumping out to the lead with a strong start for trainer D J C Racing Stables. After a quarter mile, she leads by a length over Eros (Fractious) and Too Much Wisdom (Mb Stables), who are side by side. A length back are Queenwood (Smokey Stover) and Karen (Wolfs Den), so only three lengths separate first from last at this point.

(½ Mile- :47.60)- Halfway into the race, most of the people in the grandstand have double checked the odds board to realize that is indeed a 28/1 longshot looking so good, and are either wondering why they didn’t pick her, or begin making plans to cash that ticket. She’s extended her lead now to two and a half lengths, and was not really running a fast pace here to where you would be concerned, even in our virtual world. The rest of the field runs in the same formation as they were at two furlongs, possibly thinking Starlite Run would come back to them.

(Top of Stretch, 1.5F To Go)- We’ve reached the top of the stretch, and surely, they are going to start to catch up to this longshot now, right? Well, not exactly. Starlite Run actually increases her lead with a graceful run around the turn, and now has a three length advantage and looks like she has gotten away from them. That’s right, another case of a pace setter setting an easy pace, then turning it on in the stretch, and the rest of the field not able to catch them in a Grade 1. Karen started to look a little interested as they made their way around the turn, but honestly the others in this field simply seemed along for the ride at this point.

(Finish- 1:35.00)- Starlite Run lays the smack down on the field in the stretch and wins the race easily. Her lead was only cut to two and a half lengths in one of the easier wins I have seen in a stake I have covered in quite a while. Plus she was 28/1 while doing it! The best of the rest nod goes to Queenwood for completing the exacta, then Eros, Too Much Wisdom, and Karen. But really, this race was all about Starlite Run.

About The Winner- Starlite Run, trained by D J C Racing Stables and ridden to victory by M Franco is a four year old filly by Port Of Entry, and is out of Starlet Ruler. She was bred in New York by D J C Racing Stables as yearling, and they have been together throughout. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her seventh in 17 starts, her sixth consecutive, her fifth stake win, and her third graded win. Her career earnings are now $803.880.

Track: Fast
Time: :23⁴  :47³  1:10³  1:35

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 4 Paid 30.80
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 4 – 1 Paid 122.00

Scratched: None

Winner Picked by NS

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES