Will Beholder defend Pacific Classic title? '50-50,' says trainer
DEL MAR, Calif. - Trainer Richard Mandella on Sunday morning at Del Mar said the champion mare Beholder was "probably 50-50" to defend her title in the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 20.
Beholder was beaten last weekend by Stellar Wind in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch, which ended an eight-race win streak dating to Sept. 2014.
Beholder galloped on Sunday morning. Mandella said she would have her first work since the Hirsch this week.
"Get a few more gallops in and then figure out where to go," Mandella said of the process at this point. "I'm not going to put her in something like that unless she's at her very best, and I've got to see that before I go thinking that."
The Pacific Classic's leading male contenders are California Chrome and Dortmund, the one-two finishers in the San Diego Handicap last month.