Beholder Mile (Grade 1)- $500.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
March 5, 2022

Saturday is a great day of virtual racing, but it is not only the three year olds providing the excitement. Out at SA, the Grade 1 Beholder Mile will bring together seven fillies and mares for a $500.000 purse, which is the highest purse that this race has ever seen. It will be the 17th time that the race has run, initially being known as the Vanity Handicap, a nine furlong race at HOL. When it moved to SA in 2014 it would lose the “Handicap” element, and in 2016 saw its distance cut to a mile. A year later, it got its name change to the Beholder Mile. Witeout Stables was the winning trainer last year, doing it with La Marseillaise. She would have a strong season that culminated in finishing second in the BC Distaff and would be retired without racing again. Let’s look at those seeking to be the next Beholder Mile winner!

#1- Shes A Super Freak (YME Stable, ridden by J J Hernandez)- Just finished mentioning this horse a couple times in the Davona Dale preview, since she was the winner of that race last year. She would start her four year old season by winning an optional claimer here at the end of January, coming over 90 days from her previous race, the Grade 2 Zenyatta, where she was third. Maybe if we tell her it’s a big KYO prep weekend that Davona Dale winner will come out of her and she’ll win this one!

#2- Hot Summer (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by Mar Garcia)- This Que Niagra filly was able to run in the KYO last year, but it is not a race that will end up on her career highlight reel. In late October, it started to look as though her career was getting back on track, with an emphatic win that the Empire Distaff, followed by running third in the Grade 3 Comely. Her last race was a fourth in the HOU Ladies Classic, which is always a tough race, so nothing wrong with that, at all. Her dam, Gigafactory, also produced Gigabyte, who is one of the favorites for the Fountain Of Youth.

#3- Fashionable (Mb Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- Got everyone talking five weeks ago when she pulled off a stunning victory in the Pegasus World Cup. That victory pushed her over $2,600.000 in career earnings, and now she will come here where she would seem to be a big favorite. She still may be that, but she is not going to get any kind of weight allowance here. Will that make a difference as she returns to running against females? Worth watching, for sure!

#4- Strawberry (Mb Stables, ridden by E T Baird)- A veteran of 25 career starts, and has made seven trips to the winners circle. Her last race was one of those wins, coming in an optional claimer at FG. If that doesn’t excite you, maybe go back two more races where she won the Grade 2 Beldame at BEL, and there was nothing wrong with the race in between. Might get overshadowed by her stablemate, but she is plenty capable of winning it, too.

#5- Miss Steel Mazula (Nakamura Stables, ridden by V R Carrasco)- This five year old mare is simply running brilliantly right now, with wins in four of her last five races. That includes both the Grade 1 Personal Ensign at SAR and the HOU Ladies Classic for her last start. The only race she didn’t win in that stretch was the BC Distaff, and she was still fourth. We know the trainer loves putting V R Carrasco on his mounts, but with Miss Steel Mazula, the combination is especially effective.

#6- Lady Narloff (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by D Moran)- Looking to extend her own winning streak, as she has scored wins in her last three. All are stakes, but the biggest victory was the Grade 1 La Brea the day after Christmas. If you throw out the Alabama, the one race where she had a shadow roll, then she is extremely consistent. Overall, she has won six of fourteen and can add to that efficiency here.

#7- Z Command (Smokey Stover, ridden by T J Pereira)- She would also run in the Pegasus World Cup, and while Fashionable got all the headlines for her win, Z Command finishing nine lengths behind her was easily forgotten. For her, the weight allowance did not matter at all. Now, we have to see if she can get back to being the legendary horse that she has been, accumulating over $4,000.000 in career earnings. She’s only collected a purse once in her last six starts, so you have to think this race is important and wonder if Smokey is thinking about moving her to the shed. If she bounces back here, that can probably wait. Another dud, and that possibility might be considered.

Prediction: 5-6-3-7

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES