Bal a Bali’s lackluster Shoemaker run a mystery

ARCADIA, Calif. – Even trainer Richard Mandella was fooled by Bal a Bali, the South American star who finished last of five in the Shoemaker Mile here last Saturday. Early this week, Mandella did not have a concrete alibi. “No good excuse,” he said.

Bal a Bali had trained sensationally after a sharp U.S. debut, a win in the May 9 American Stakes, his 12th victory from 13 starts. In the Shoemaker post parade, no horse looked better than Bal a Bali, whose perfect trip positioned third behind the pacesetter went unrewarded. He was flat late.

There were two plausible excuses. Either he bounced or he disliked the slow turf. Mandella said neither alibi is airtight.

“I think I was fooled by his healthy looks,” Mandella said.

Regarding Bal a Bali’s win in the American, Mandella said: “It might have looked easy, but whether it looks easy or not, it doesn’t really tell you. Horses can win in a gallop, but inside ... they’ve used everything.”

After arriving from South America, Bal a Bali battled and recovered from laminitis, a potentially deadly foot disease. And after he won the Grade 3 American, it seemed that the sky was the limit.

Mandella wonders if that win took more out of him than expected.

“Sometimes they are left wilted, but you couldn’t look at him and think it,” he said.

A second possibility is that Bal a Bali struggled over a turf course that has been extensively aerated.

“The track is different,” Mandella said. “I’m not complaining; it’s probably a good track. But it did change without a lot of warning.”

Although the turf is listed as firm, final times in recent weeks have slowed considerably, as if the ground were soft. Prior to the Shoemaker, that was not a worry for Mandella. “I realized it was softer, but hell, he likes soft,” Mandella said.

However, the difference between weather-related soft and manmade soft is significant.

“Rained-on soft, you have the ‘carpet’ still there,” Mandella said. “Aerated, you have porous ground where they go in. It can change the action on a horse; their feet stick a little more.”

Mandella speculated that Bal a Bali struggled to stay in contention. The extra effort took its toll, and he tired.

Whether either alibi is valid, the good news is that Bal a Bali will fight again, probably at Del Mar. Until he resumes serious training, Mandella will not target a specific race for Bal a Bali, who Mandella said came out of the race “a little stiff and sore, but nothing terrible.”

“We’ll get another chance,” he said.

The Mandella-trained Beholder and the Craig Lewis-trained Warren’s Veneda exited their one-two finishes Saturday in the Grade 3 Adoration in good shape. Beholder will run Aug. 1 at Del Mar in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch.

The options are open for Warren’s Veneda. Lewis said on Monday that the Gold Cup against males was not likely, but he mentioned the $200,000 Great Lady M. Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 11, the $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 18, and the Hirsch at Del Mar as possibilities for her next start.