Mandella looks for strong start to busy weekend

Things are so weird this season that a 16,000-mile round trip, halfway around the world for a race that did not occur, is referred to as “an inconvenience.”

In the grand scheme, trainer Richard Mandella is right, of course. And this week in California, the trainer is just happy Tizamagician and United returned safely from Dubai and are ready to race closer to home. As in, their backyard at Santa Anita.

Tizamagician, a promising 3-year-old, faces older allowance rivals Friday. United, the Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up last fall and a Grade 2 winner this winter, runs Saturday in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham. It was not supposed to happen like this.

Both horses shipped to the Middle East for the Dubai World Cup undercard March 28 – Tizamagician in the $2.5 million UAE Derby, United in the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic. Less than a week out, the card was canceled.

“The amazing thing is they didn’t get to run, but they came home in great shape,” Mandella said. The trip “didn’t hurt them, it was just an inconvenience.”

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It also was a long wait – the most recent start for both Tizamagician and United was Feb. 1. Mandella needed patience, with the Dubai travelers and also with Odysseus, who took forever to debut. He was a 4-year-old when he began his career this winter. Now 2 for 2, Odysseus runs Friday in a turf allowance, race 5. Tizamagician runs in race 8.

Mandella’s layoff stats will be tested this week. United returns from a layoff of more than three months Saturday and Jolie Olimpica returns from a three-month layoff Monday in the Grade 2 Monrovia Stakes. Jolie Olimpica, 4 for 5, would have started in a Grade 2 in April, but racing was suspended.

Finally, spring is when 2-year-olds emerge, and Mandella trains a colt whose debut is highly anticipated. Q B One, the first foal from four-time champion Beholder, is gearing up for his summer debut. First things first.

Race 5 on Friday is the next rung on the ladder for Odysseus, who entered training in May 2018 but got sidetracked by a pair of six-month layoffs.

“He had immaturity problems, sore shins, things like that,” Mandella said. “Nothing serious, he just needed to grow up.”

The wait was worth it. Odysseus scored a 9-1 upset in his debut in a turf sprint, followed by an 11-1 allowance win at a mile on turf. He faces another class challenge Friday, the hike from N1X to N2X is tough on turf. Odysseus, by Candy Ride, is a sibling to Grade 2 winner Liam the Charmer.

Odysseus, described by Mandella as a “good-feeling colt,” will be ridden again by Jorge Velez and could set the pace in a race light on speed. His rivals include habitual slow-starter Kazan; Proud Pedro, another closer who might prefer longer than a mile; sharp Order and Law; and juvenile stakes winner Hit the Road, the field’s only 3-year-old.

Race 8 Friday, an entry-level allowance dirt mile, is the first start for Tizamagician since he finished fourth in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Tizamagician gets a six-pound weight break as a 3-year-old facing older. Is he good enough?

“It depends on how good the older ones are,” Mandella said. “We’ll see what we’ve got here Friday.”

What they’ve got is a developing 3-year-old good enough to defeat older. Tizamagician turned a corner two starts back with a solid maiden win in his sixth start, followed by his fourth in the Lewis, beaten less than two lengths. Tizamagician figures to be forwardly placed Friday under Victor Espinoza.

Others include nine-time winner El Huerfano, four-time winner Kylemore, Boogalute, and deep-closing 3-year-old Canyon Crest.

While older horses show off in the afternoon, a 2-year-old colt is showing off in the morning. Expectations are high for Q B One, by Uncle Mo and produced by Beholder.

Mandella said Q B One “was kind of a gangly yearling and early 2-year-old. Now he’s kind of putting it together and he’s starting to look pretty nice.”

After the colt zipped a bullet three furlongs in 35.60 seconds on May 2, Mandella backed off slightly.

“He’s a big colt, so I don’t want to put him together too quick, so I’m just kind of letting him come along slowly,” he said.

Q B One went nearly two weeks before he worked again, an easier 36.60 on May 15. Mandella said the first objective for Q B One is “to have him ready when we get to Del Mar.”