Eblouissante has tall task in Santa Lucia

ARCADIA, Calif. – Eblouissante has lived in the spotlight since she made her first start at Hollywood Park in November 2012. Being a half-sister to 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta earns that attention.

But when Eblouissante starts in Sunday’s $75,000 Santa Lucia Stakes at Santa Anita, she will not be the focus of the race. Beholder, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2012 and champion 3-year-old filly of 2013, will have her first start of the year in the Santa Lucia, run over 1 1/16 miles for fillies and mares.

[DRF Live: Get live reports and handicapping insights from Santa Anita this Saturday]

“This has turned out to be a really tough race,” said John Shirreffs, who trains Eblouissante. “Beholder really stands out.”

The Santa Lucia, restricted to nonwinners of a graded stakes at a mile or longer this year, will be the second start of the season for Eblouissante.

Eblouissante was second to Macha in an allowance race over 1 1/16 miles here Feb. 13. The allowance race was Eblouissante’s first start since a last-place finish in a field of six in the Grade 3 Shuvee Handicap at Saratoga last summer, her stakes debut.

Shirreffs said he is looking for “a good effort from Eblouissante.”

“We’re always looking to see improvement,” he said. “You want to see if you’re on the right track.”

The Santa Lucia drew a field of seven. For Beholder, the race will be her first start since a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff here last November. On Thursday at Santa Anita, Beholder worked a half-mile in 51.40 seconds, her final major exercise before Sunday’s race.

The field includes Magic Union, who was second in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 15.

Sunday is the closing day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. The track opens its first spring-summer meeting Friday, April 25, a program that will begin at 3 p.m. Pacific. A majority of the Friday programs through the end of the spring-summer meeting June 29 will start at 3 p.m. One exception is May 2, when first post time will be 12:30 p.m.

The spring-summer meeting replaces dates previously run at Hollywood Park, which closed in December.