Five years later, Phipps foes are rivals in breeding shed

Although the star event of the day was California Chrome’s bid for the Triple Crown in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, perhaps that card’s biggest showdown came earlier. Multiple Grade 1 winners Beholder, Close Hatches, and Princess of Sylmar – who would eventually retire with 20 Grade 1 wins, five Eclipse Awards, and more than $10.8 million in earnings among them – faced off in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes. Five years later, they are all on to their second careers as broodmares, and one of them will have an entrant in this year’s Belmont Stakes.

Close Hatches edged Princess of Sylmar, the prior year’s Kentucky Oaks winner, by a head to win the Phipps. Beholder finished fourth and emerged from the race with a superficial pastern injury that briefly took her out of training.

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The Phipps was one of three Grade 1 victories that season for Juddmonte homebred Close Hatches, securing her the Eclipse Award as outstanding older female. The mare’s first foal is Wood Memorial and Tampa Bay Derby winner Tacitus. Elevated to third in the Kentucky Derby, he is expected to be among the favorites in the Belmont Stakes. Like his dam, he is trained by Bill Mott for Juddmonte.

“Bill did such an admirable job with Close Hatches, achieving so many exceptional victories with her,” Juddmonte manager Garrett O’Rourke said. “Obviously, he was always going to be the favorite to get her first foal. But I think Bill does exceptionally well with horses that probably need a little bit of patience. He doesn’t push them for speed. Tacitus was never going to be a speed horse. I just think the stars were aligning. … It just seemed like it would be a perfect fit.”

Close Hatches produced Atheer, a Malibu Moon filly, in 2017 before delivering a Tapit colt who is a full brother to Tacitus in 2018. After delivering a Curlin colt this February, she was bred back to Tapit.

Beholder finished her career with four Eclipse Awards and 11 Grade 1 wins, including the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and 2013 and 2016 editions of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Retired to Spendthrift Farm, she produced the Uncle Mo colt Q B One in 2018. Earlier this year, she produced a Curlin filly, and is now in foal to War Front.

“We couldn’t be prouder of Beholder,” Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said. “She is such a professional and continues to perform beautifully in her second career as a broodmare.”

Princess of Sylmar’s 2013 Oaks victory, one of four Grade 1 scores on the season for her, came over both Beholder, who was second, and Close Hatches, who was seventh. At the conclusion of her career, she sold for $3.1 million to Japan’s Shadai Farm to top the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale. She has a pair of foals of racing age by leading Japanese sire Deep Impact – the 3-year-old colt Danon Luster, who is a winner, and the unraced 2-year-old filly Ideal.