Beholder thrills crowd in final work for BC Classic

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With American Pharoah completing his serious training for the Breeders’ Cup Classic in California, BEHOLDER has commanded the most attention at Keeneland since her arrival from the West Coast a week ago. Her much-anticipated final work for the Classic came here Monday, and the popular mare did not disappoint her legion of fans while headlining a list of 15 potential Breeders’ Cup starters who breezed over the dirt and turf throughout the morning.

It was a cold, cloudy, dreary Monday in Lexington, with even a light shower or two falling during training hours, a possible prelude to the torrential downpours forecast for this area beginning late Monday night and continuing into Tuesday.

Works of the Day

Work of the Day honors are being split for the first time during the run-up to the Breeders’ Cup, a dead heat Monday between Beholder and Lea.

BEHOLDER (five furlongs in 59.27 seconds) breezed a totally effortless-looking five-eighths shortly after the renovation break, completing her final three furlongs in 34.78 after fanning four paths wide off the turn and doing so as easily as can be, with her ears pricked, before galloping out six furlongs in a solid 1:12.43. It’s hard to knock anything she’s done here all week, and the temperature she spiked off the plane is just a distant memory now.

LEA (four furlongs in 47.87) couldn’t have looked any better, striding out beautifully over the main track while completing his final quarter under a bit of late prodding in 22.86 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.72. He gives every indication that he’s sitting on another big effort in the Dirt Mile.

Trainer Steve Asmussen worked his quartet of Breeders’ Cup contenders in succession, beginning almost immediately after the track opened at 6:15 a.m. All four – TAPITURE (Dirt Mile), UNTAPABLE (Distaff), NICKNAME (Juvenile Fillies), and HOLY BOSS (Sprint) – breezed in typical Asmussen maintenance style four to five days prior to their races. All eased away slowly from the half-mile pole and fanned three to four paths wide off the turn before finishing well and being allowed to ease up past the wire so as not to gallop out too hard or too far into the turn.

Tapiture was the first of the group to go, getting his half in 49.62, with a 24.71 final quarter. Untapable was the slowest of the group, going four furlongs in 50.78, with a 25.23 final quarter, before pulling up more abruptly than the others into the turn. Nickname continues to make a favorable impression. She went her half-mile in 49.93, going in 24.72 down the lane, while Holy Boss turned in a similar 49.96 clocking, going in 24.80 through the stretch.

Joining Asmussen’s team prior to the break were SUPER MAJESTY, five furlongs in 1:02.42, GLIDING BY, three-eighths in 35.55, and TAP TO IT, an easy half-mile in 50.42.

Super Majesty (Filly and Mare Sprint) visited the paddock before coming out for her breeze. She eased away from the five-furlong pole, barely shading 14 seconds for her opening eighth, cruised to the top of the stretch in 39.24, and finished nicely with only a hint of urging, completing her final quarter in 23.18 before galloping out very strong in 1:15.19.

Gliding By (Juvenile Fillies Turf) was full of run down the stretch and flew home the final quarter of a visually appealing blowout on the main track in 22.14 before continuing out with good energy into the turn, pulling up four furlongs in 48.17.

The imposing-looking Tap to It (Juvenile Fillies) was in maintenance mode for trainer Ralph Nicks, cruising to the top of the stretch in 26.46 before coming down the lane in 23.96 with her rider sitting like a statue throughout. She galloped out five-eighths in 1:03.83 while working very late over a bit of a chewed-up track.

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JUDY THE BEAUTY (Filly and Mare Sprint) did not look very comfortable galloping over the turf course Sunday but made a much more favorable appearance Monday. Breaking off a couple of lengths behind her workmate at the five-furlong pole, the defending Filly and Mare Sprint champ was well held throughout and finished on even terms with her hard-pressed partner after covering the distance in 1:00.06, her final quarter in 23.47, before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.54. This was a definite improvement over her breeze here the previous week.

FAVORITE TALE (Sprint) has taken a bit of a circuitous route just to get to Kentucky after originally being victimized by the quarantine at Parx. The speedster was well within himself when breezing an easy four furlongs in 47.78, getting a final quarter in 24.06 without any real need for encouragement and galloping out five panels in 1:00.95.

HARMONIZE (Juvenile Fillies Turf) impressed while working in company with the older Seek Again last week, and she appeared just as sharp blowing out a very strong three-eighths in 35.18 on Monday, showing a nice turn of foot all on her own before pulling up four furlongs in 48.08.

ORDAK DAN (Turf) turned in just an easy, leg-stretching three-eighths blowout in 37.99, out in 52.05, over the main track.

The turf was available for training Monday but attracted only two workers, TOURIST and MANHATTAN DAN, who breezed between the dogs, which were positioned out near the center of the course.

Tourist (Mile) was equipped with blinkers, which he did not wear in his previous drill on the main track. He barely got out of an open gallop to the top of the stretch, then was hard pressed to finish, responding to steady urging down the lane to negotiate the final quarter of a 51.17 half-mile in a solid 22.92 before continuing to show good energy into the turn and galloping out five-eighths in 1:04.66.

Manhattan Dan (Juvenile Turf), like Tourist, eased away from the half-mile pole to the top of the stretch in 27.16 before finishing willingly enough without prompting, getting four furlongs in 50.39, out in 1:04.12.

Among the gallopers who impressed the most Monday were ISOTHERM (Juvenile), YAHILWA (Distaff), and LIMOUSINE LIBERAL (Sprint).

Saturday workout highlights included an outstanding half-mile breeze from STOPCHARGINGMARIA (four furlongs in 46.91) and another terrific effort by Limousine Liberal (four furlongs from the three-eighths pole in 46.40). PRIVATE ZONE, on the other hand, was not quite at his best later that morning, going four furlongs from the three-eighths pole in 48.45 while not showing his typical speed and enthusiasm on the gallop-out.

Stopchargingmaria (Distaff) turned in what trainer Todd Pletcher described as an “insane” gallop-out after completing the final quarter of her breeze in 22.09, going out five furlongs in 58.90 before pulling up three parts of a mile around the clubhouse turn in 1:11.92.