Warren’s Veneda heads Vanity after Beholder withdraws

ARCADIA, Calif. – The anticipated showdown between two-time champion Beholder and the rapidly improving Warren’s Veneda in Saturday’s $300,000 Vanity Stakes at Santa Anita was lost Thursday when trainer Richard Mandella said Beholder would miss the race because of an illness.

Instead, Warren’s Veneda will be a prohibitive favorite to extend her winning streak to four races in the Grade 1 Vanity, run at 1 1/8 miles for fillies and mares.

Beholder was diagnosed with a 102-degree temperature Thursday. Blood tests indicated that Beholder had a high white blood cell count, Mandella said.

“She’s fighting something,” he said. “She’s out.”

Mandella said Beholder showed no signs of illness before Thursday and said her condition was not as severe as last October, when an illness kept her out of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

“She looks a little depressed but not like before the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “That day, she looked really sick.”

Mandella said Beholder will be treated with antibiotics and could resume training within a week if she recovers quickly.

The absence of Beholder leaves the Vanity with a field of four – the stakes winners Legacy and Warren’s Veneda and the stakes-placed runners Gas Total and My Sweet Addiction.

Key contenders

Warren’s Veneda (Last 3 Beyers: 99-95-94)

* Warren’s Veneda is unbeaten in three starts this year, all in stakes, for owner and breeder Ben Warren and trainer Craig Lewis. The 5-year-old California-bred mare won the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational at 1 1/8 miles by 7 1/4 lengths March 14, beating Dame Dorothy. On May 2, Dame Dorothy won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff at Churchill Downs.

* Warren’s Veneda has won 8 of 22 starts and earned $827,612. Lewis credits good fortune for a season that has defined Warren’s Veneda’s career.

“She’s good right now,” he said.

* From a sporting perspective, Lewis was anxious for a start against Beholder.

“That’s a shame,” he said after hearing of his rival’s absence. “I feel bad for those guys.”

* Warren’s Veneda is a closer who will be well behind the expected pacesetter, My Sweet Addiction, the winner of an optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles March 20.

My Sweet Addiction (Last 3 Beyers: 89-81-4)

* My Sweet Addiction was trounced in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes at seven furlongs in January, finishing last of six, but has been brighter in optional claimers around two turns, including a third at a mile Feb. 20.

Legacy (Last 3 Beyers: 70-88-74)

* Legacy won the Cypress Stakes at Los Alamitos last July but is winless in her last seven starts. She has finished behind Warren’s Veneda in her last four races and is unlikely to reverse that trend in the Vanity.