Beholder Mile (Grade 1)- $300.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies And Mares Four Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Dirt
March 8, 2025

Beholder Mile is the weekend’s lone Grade 1, taking place at SA for older females on the main track. It takes place for the 20th time this year, and for the tenth time here at SA after previously being held at HOL. The $300.000 purse has been common for the race in general, but it is a reduction from the $500.000 that we saw in 2022 and 2023. Last year also saw a $300.000 purse, and it would have Always A Virgin end up in the winner’s circle. The five-year-old mare who was saddled by Tinkey would not win another race and she has since been retired and is in the barn of TwinTowersRacing presently. We’ll have seven in this year’s field, let’s take a look at them now:

1- Devil In High Heels (The Sidley Stud, ridden by R M Hernandez)- Ran in the BC Fillies and Mares Sprint last year, but finished near the back and would be sold to The Sidley Stud in the auction for $300.000 a month later. The filly has been strong in her new silks, with a strong second place effort here in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes a couple weeks after the sale and then going to GP and nipping Smokin Cara at the wire to win the Grade 2 Inside Information. In good form, but not alone in that aspect.

2- Secret Of A Lady (Mb Stables, ridden by V Espinoza)- In September, Mb Stables added her to his lineup for $50.000 in the auction after a career that had its moments but also lacked fanfare. The trainer has figured something out with her, as she has gone on to win four out of five races, gradually increasing her competition level until her last two massive scores. Won the Grade 1 American Oaks here in December, and for an encore, she went to GP and beat some very good horses, such as Painville, Lady Hilltopper, and stablemate Wander to win the Pegasus F & M Turf. Ready to keep on rolling here.

3- Military Made (Spb Racing, ridden by S Elliott)- When we saw her here for the Grade 2 Santa Monica last month, she did not make much of an impression, starting from the back and not doing much during the race. Starts like that are not the norm for her, and her history suggests that she can put aside a tough outing and bounce back without too much trouble. She does know how to win, with ten victories over 26 starts, and will run in a Grade 1 for the first time. Can’t have another outing like the Santa Monica again, especially when against a crowd like this.

4- Foxy Envoy (Arindel, ridden by E J Zayas)- This 30-race veteran has spent her career running in overnights and ungraded stakes up until she was claimed for $75.000 in January. She was very consistent for her prior trainer, and did pick up a couple of ungraded stake wins, something that was noticed by Arindel when he put down that amount to pick her up. Foxy Envoy would go graded right away, running in the Grade 3 Royal Delta at GP and was second from wire to wire. Her name won’t jump out at you in this field against this crowd, but she deserves this shot.

5- Moment To Reflect (Threshold, ridden by J Lezcano)- Yesterday, I wrote up the Azeri Stakes, and I mentioned Moment To Reflect when looking at Present Tense. I hadn’t noticed that Moment To Reflect was running here, but I am very glad to see it, as after all she did top Present Tense by nearly two lengths last month in an open allowance at HOU. She’s won four of five, all being overnights except for a $50.000 ungraded stake at HST. Has graded experience going back in her past performances a bit, and last month at HOU, she used the triumph over Present Tense to convince Threshold that she needs to be back.

6- Wasted Away (Mb Stables, ridden by T Gaffalione)- What a spectacular career she has had up to this point, and she is just getting started. She’s been in a few barns, but that doesn’t change the fact that she has been first or second in every race she has been in for the last year. Those are not just any races, either, as they are all Grade 1’s! In May, she would etch her name in history by winning the KYO but that would not be all for her. She would then thrive at SAR, winning both the CCA Oaks, and then the Alabama, and if that wasn’t enough, she won the biggest race of them all for her division, the BC Distaff. It was between the two SAR races where she was sold from Fractious to Mb Stables for $1,250.000 and amount that actually goes down as being a truly bargain price. This is her debut after the BC Distaff, so we could look for things to complain about and point to the four-month layoff and wonder why Mb hasn’t run her since then. Still should be the favorite here.

7- Groovy (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- A one time stablemate of Wasted Away, albeit very briefly. She was picked up by TwinTowersRacing from Fractious, where she made just one start, for $75.670 in the September auction after spending the bulk of her career for Calia Stable. Since the auction, Groovy has made three starts for TwinTowersRacing, struggling on debut but rebounding very well afterwards by winning the Grade 3 Chilukki, then a strong third in the Grade 2 Inside Information coming from the outside. Capable of a good result here as well as she makes her first Grade 1 appearance since April 2023.

Prediction: 6-2-1-7

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES