After Tamara demolished her field by 6¾ lengths in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G1), the only appropriate response was “Wow!”—perhaps coupled with a bit of superstitious awe. There, on the track, was Beholder again: the same bay coat, the same floating stride, the same orange-and-purple Spendthrift silks. It was not reincarnation; Beholder is very much alive and grazing in the pastures of Spendthrift Farm, while her unborn Jackie’s Warrior foal grows toward its date with daylight next spring. Nonetheless, the scene was eerily similar. Adding to the feeling of time having somehow turned back, Richard Mandella saddled Tamara in the paddock and greeted her in the winner’s circle, just as he had done for her dam when he trained Beholder to four championships over five seasons of racing.
Tamara has a long, long way to go to equal her dam’s record, of course. Her victory was scored over a group of juvenile fillies who, however promising, mostly had no more than impressive maiden wins on their resumes; the only previous graded stakes winner in the field, Dreamfyre, was scratched on the morning of the race after she failed to clean up her morning feed. The last time Beholder was seen at Del Mar, she was administering a beatdown by 8¼ lengths to Grade 1-winning older males in the 2015 TVG Pacific Classic (USA-G1). That’s a considerable difference in level of competition. Nonetheless, Tamara ran like a filly with incredible potential, and no trainer now alive is better than Mandella at developing talent without abusing it.
Tamara is the first Grade 1 winner for Spendthrift stallion Bolt d’Oro, who also has a favorable acquaintance with Del Mar as he won the 2017 Del Mar Futurity (USA-G1) as well as the 2017 FrontRunner Stakes (USA-G1) and 2018 San Felipe Stakes (USA-G2), both at Santa Anita. The leading American freshman sire of 2022, the son of Medaglia d’Oro and the winning A.P. Indy mare Globe Trot (also the dam of 2020 Woodward Handicap, USA-G1, winner Global Campaign and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Sonic Mule) has nine stakes winners thus far, with Tamara being the first to emerge from his second crop. The filly is a maternal granddaughter of 2016 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Leslie’s Lady and belongs to a female line that has been producing top horses in the United States since the importation of its ancestress, 1832 Doncaster Cup winner Gallopade (or Galopade, as she was registered in her native country) to North America in 1833.
Mandela is now reportedly weighing options between running Tamara back in the Chandelier Stakes (USA-G1) at Santa Anita on October 7 and training up to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) on November 3. If she goes in the Chandelier, she is likely to cross paths again with Del Mar Debutante runner-up Laurent, a Practical Joke filly who turned in a very good performance of her own after being tardy at the break and racing extremely wide through the final turn. The seasoning she got at Del Mar may well move her up next out, though whether any amount of seasoning would let her reverse Saturday’s verdict is questionable. If Tamara stays in the barn, it will be well worth seeing if Laurent can frank the form with another top-class effort, perhaps against Dreamfyre, who may be ready to go by then. Either way, Tamara is likely to be a favorite when she races in the Breeders’ Cup and attempts to recreate the memory of Beholder (the 2012 Juvenile Fillies winner) once more.
Tamara has a long, long way to go to equal her dam’s record, of course. Her victory was scored over a group of juvenile fillies who, however promising, mostly had no more than impressive maiden wins on their resumes; the only previous graded stakes winner in the field, Dreamfyre, was scratched on the morning of the race after she failed to clean up her morning feed. The last time Beholder was seen at Del Mar, she was administering a beatdown by 8¼ lengths to Grade 1-winning older males in the 2015 TVG Pacific Classic (USA-G1). That’s a considerable difference in level of competition. Nonetheless, Tamara ran like a filly with incredible potential, and no trainer now alive is better than Mandella at developing talent without abusing it.
Tamara is the first Grade 1 winner for Spendthrift stallion Bolt d’Oro, who also has a favorable acquaintance with Del Mar as he won the 2017 Del Mar Futurity (USA-G1) as well as the 2017 FrontRunner Stakes (USA-G1) and 2018 San Felipe Stakes (USA-G2), both at Santa Anita. The leading American freshman sire of 2022, the son of Medaglia d’Oro and the winning A.P. Indy mare Globe Trot (also the dam of 2020 Woodward Handicap, USA-G1, winner Global Campaign and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Sonic Mule) has nine stakes winners thus far, with Tamara being the first to emerge from his second crop. The filly is a maternal granddaughter of 2016 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Leslie’s Lady and belongs to a female line that has been producing top horses in the United States since the importation of its ancestress, 1832 Doncaster Cup winner Gallopade (or Galopade, as she was registered in her native country) to North America in 1833.
Mandela is now reportedly weighing options between running Tamara back in the Chandelier Stakes (USA-G1) at Santa Anita on October 7 and training up to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) on November 3. If she goes in the Chandelier, she is likely to cross paths again with Del Mar Debutante runner-up Laurent, a Practical Joke filly who turned in a very good performance of her own after being tardy at the break and racing extremely wide through the final turn. The seasoning she got at Del Mar may well move her up next out, though whether any amount of seasoning would let her reverse Saturday’s verdict is questionable. If Tamara stays in the barn, it will be well worth seeing if Laurent can frank the form with another top-class effort, perhaps against Dreamfyre, who may be ready to go by then. Either way, Tamara is likely to be a favorite when she races in the Breeders’ Cup and attempts to recreate the memory of Beholder (the 2012 Juvenile Fillies winner) once more.
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