ARCADIA, Calif. – Conditions were ideal for Sweet Azteca on Saturday at Santa Anita, where the lightly raced filly parlayed a sweet trip setting easy fractions in a wire-to-wire victory over even-money favorite Adare Manor in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile. Sweet Azteca ($8.80 second favorite), a 4-year-old filly who had made only three starts for owner-breeder Pamela Ziebarth and trainer Michael McCarthy, looked like the controlling speed under Flavien Prat. The Beholder unfolded as expected. “I was able to get to the turn and get her to relax, and she did the rest of the job,” Prat said. Stretching out for the first time following a 12-length romp in an entry-level allowance sprint, Sweet Azteca cruised the opening half-mile in a comfortable 47.40, opened a two-length lead at the quarter pole after six furlongs in 1:11.36, and won by three-quarters of a length in 1:36.40. :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Green Up finished 5 1/2 lengths back in third, followed in order by Desert Dawn, Window Shopping, Coffee in Bed and Interstatedaydream. Kirstenbosch and Turnerloose scratched. Sweet Azteca was making just her fourth start and first at two turns, but while training the 4-year-old filly, McCarthy was confident she would handle a route. Ziebarth also was confident, due to her pedigree. Sweet Azteca’s third dam, Tizsweet, is a full sister to Tiznow, the two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner owned and bred by Ziebarth’s late mother Cecilia Straub-Rubens. Ziebarth, who also owned and bred Grade 1 winners Tiz Flirtatious and My Sweet Addiction, rarely strays far from Tiznow in her pedigree plans. “You look at my papers, Tiznow here, Tiznow there,” she said, laughing. With three wins from four starts, Sweet Azteca is a welcome addition to a relatively shallow California female dirt division that Adare Manor dominated through 2023. The Beholder was Adare Manor’s first start in four months, and she served notice she will be a force as a 5-year-old in 2024. “It was a good comeback for her,” Adare Manor’s jockey Juan Hernandez said. “She finished really strong. It looks like she came back really good.” Adare Manor is a big mare who is not particularly quick from the gate, and she tucked fourth on the rail. “My filly was really comfortable behind the speed,” Hernandez said. “The other horse got the jump on me.” Hernandez asked Adare Manor to go after Sweet Azteca at the quarter pole, and she made up ground late, but missed by three-quarters of a length. New name for Beholder Mile The Beholder Mile will have a new name next year. Santa Anita announced this week the race will be renamed to honor Beholder’s late owner, B. Wayne Hughes. Starting in 2025, the Beholder Mile will be the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.