Beholder on comeback trail with bullet five-furlong work
DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Richard Mandella hardly could contain the smile on his face after seeing how the two-time champion Beholder worked Monday, when she zipped five furlongs in 58.80 seconds, the best of 41 workouts at the distance.
“I thought that was a pretty good sign,” Mandella said.
The workout was only the third for Beholder since returning from a minor injury suffered in the Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day. She went three furlongs in 39.60 on Aug. 1, then a half-mile in 48.60 on Aug. 6, before coming back just five days later for her five-furlong breeze.
“She did the same thing last year when we were bringing her back – just gave her a couple of easy works, then stepped it up,” Mandella said. “That’s the thing with her. She can do that anytime. The beauty is that she can go three furlongs in 38 just the same.”
Mandella said he wasn’t sure if Beholder would race before the meet ends Sept. 3.
“I don’t want to run her unless she’s ready,” he said.
The year-end goal remains a title defense in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.