Iotapa gets unexpected company in BC Distaff work

ARCADIA, Calif. – The workout for Iotapa on Monday at Santa Anita was planned as a simple six-furlong drill to prepare for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. It turned out to be more demanding than intended.

Trainer John Sadler gave Iotapa a target in the six-furlong workout soon before 8 a.m. Pacific. Sadler instructed exercise rider Jelani Grant to break off Iotapa three lengths behind stablemate Rocked Twice, and then motor clear late.

But the orchestrated work got an unexpected participant. Majestic Harbor, a Grade 1 winner headed to the BC Classic, broke behind the Sadler duo and then jumped in with Iotapa.

Majestic Harbor and Iotapa raced as a team through the lane, with Majestic Harbor and jockey Tyler Baze outfinishing Iotapa by about a neck. Majestic Harbor was timed in 1:11.60; Iotapa was given 1:12. Rocked Twice finished behind those two in 1:13.

“I didn’t really want another horse in there [with Iotapa],” Sadler said. “I didn’t really want company. But it was fine; it was good.”

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Iotapa, a two-time Grade 1 winner, is among an expected field of at least 10 runners in the BC Distaff. Beholder defected Sunday after getting sick; the role of favorite is expected to switch to Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable or, possibly, Close Hatches.

A front-runner, Iotapa is not without a chance if she breaks cleanly in the Distaff. In her most recent start Sept. 27 in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes, she broke dead last. She rallied to finish third. Sadler has taken steps to prevent a repeat occurrence.

“We’ve taken her to the gate twice and stood her, because she was so bad in the [Zenyatta],” he said. “She stood good. So it’s just a question of getting her to run that race up close. Last time it wasn’t her trip at all.”

Untapable, who posted a visually impressive bullet work Sunday – five furlongs in 58.60 seconds – was fine on Monday. She walked for 30 minutes before dawn, according to Steve Asmussen’s assistant trainer, Scott Blasi, and will have a final slower work before the Distaff.

Beholder will not pre-enter the Distaff, trainer Richard Mandella reiterated Monday. The two-time champion spiked a 104-degree temperature on Sunday morning. She was treated with fever medication and penicillin.

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Although Beholder acted playful late Sunday afternoon, it was clear Monday morning she was not herself.

“Her head’s down a little bit; she was 102 this morning,” Mandella said. “The fever medication kept [her temperature] down all night. It’s not going to just go away. The penicillin will take a few days. She doesn’t look bad, but she’s a little sick.”

Beholder, a 4-year-old filly owned by B. Wayne Hughes’s Spendthrift Farm, is scheduled to be sold at auction this fall if she recovers. But her racing days are not necessarily over.

“By all rights, there’s no reason not to run her another year,” Mandella said. “She’s sound. It’s just been unfortunate timing this year with a couple things. I hope either Mr. Hughes doesn’t sell her or somebody buys her and sends her back.”