Beholder in excellent condition following Zenyatta triumph

ARCADIA, Calif. – After what essentially was a paid workout Saturday in the Zenyatta Stakes, Beholder was in excellent condition Sunday morning here at Santa Anita, according to trainer Richard Mandella, who said he was in the process of formulating a plan for preparing Beholder for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.

“She does need some schooling, so as of now, I’m thinking of getting there nine or 10 days out and doing a little breeze back there,” Mandella said.

The Breeders’ Cup Classic would mark the second start for Beholder against males. She pummeled the West’s best older runners in the Pacific Classic last month. The prospective BC Classic field includes Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, as well as top older horse Honor Code.

A newcomer to the field is Smooth Roller, who won the Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita to earn a fees-paid berth into the BC Classic. On Sunday, trainer Victor Garcia said he also plans to arrive at Keeneland in time to give Smooth Roller a final work after having all his other workouts at Santa Anita, as Beholder has.

Smooth Roller got a Beyer Speed Figure of 111, a career-best. Beholder, never asked for anything close to her best, got a 99.

“She looks great, ate up,” Mandella said as Beholder grazed along a patch of grass outside Mandella’s stable Sunday morning. “The race couldn’t have gone any easier. We got what we wanted. We didn’t need to bust her gut again.”

Mandella said he did have a few anxious moments leading up to the Zenyatta, since Beholder was such a heavy favorite.

“I’m thinking, ‘If she gets beat, how dumb will I look?’ ” Mandella said. “That’s what goes through your mind. But once she left the gate, I felt good.”

The Zenyatta, which Beholder won for the third straight year, marked her 15th win in 20 lifetime starts. She is a two-time champion and two-time Breeders’ Cup winner and has won Grade 1 races at ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. Her previous Breeders’ Cup wins came in the BC Juvenile Fillies and BC Distaff. If she wins the BC Classic, she will be the first horse to win three different Breeders’ Cup races.

Smooth Roller has run just four times and now owns three victories, courtesy of his win in the Awesome Again. He had a legitimate excuse for his lone loss in the Brubaker at Del Mar, where he reared in the gate before the start, stumbled, and was caught wide.

Garcia said he’d “like to work once over there” at Keeneland with Smooth Roller.

Garcia also wanted to know if, indeed, Beholder was running in the BC Classic. Told she was, he said, “She’s the horse to beat. She was just galloping yesterday. That was a nice workout.”

American Pharoah, who worked five furlongs in 1:00 Sunday at Santa Anita, is expected to do his final training for the Breeders’ Cup in Kentucky. After one more work next weekend at Santa Anita, he is expected to travel to Churchill Downs and have three works there in preparation for his final career start in the BC Classic.