What we learned: Tamara resembles mom in Del Mar romp

Until now, the dam Beholder has not had a son or daughter who stood out as a possible top-level runner who could resemble her own career. But when Tamara won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante (G1) as easily as possible by several lengths, she gave the impression that her mother’s talent is there and that she might move on to a bright future.

The most impressive part of Tamara’s Debutante win came when she took over the lead on the turn under her own power and did not appear tired at all.

When the gates opened, Pushiness secured the lead with Tamara perched right outside the pacesetter. Pushiness posted initial fractions of 21.85 and 44.45 seconds, and without reading any pace figures, the half-mile fraction seemed fast relative to other sprint races on the card. Yet Tamara coasted right into the lead and pushed Pushiness aside quickly.

From there, Tamara opened up on the field as she rounded the turn. Jockey Mike Smith continued to sit quietly as Tamara hit the top of the stretch. Laurent rallied on the outside, but she needed urging from Edwin Maldonado to sustain the bid while Tamara still traveled easily.

Smith shook the reins a few times in the stretch, and Tamara added to the margin over Laurent. Tamara finished 6 3/4 lengths in front of Laurent under a hand ride toward the end. Laurent held second by 2 1/4 lengths over a closing Gate to Paradise in third, and Chatalas offered no bid and finished fourth and not far behind Gate to Paradise.

Gate to Paradise’s trip under Kent Desormeaux deserves a second watch, as she initially let Laurent pass her before oddly taking the turn extremely wide. Perhaps Desormeaux thought the tank became empty, as he did not work hard to encourage the filly until the stretch run, where she finally rallied and cut into the gap between her and Laurent.

The winner Tamara completed the seven furlongs in 1:22.41, which resulted in a 91 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form. Clearly, Tamara had plenty more to give though if Smith asked. Tamara dominated the other fillies while not trying, which means handicappers can expect a jump forward next time.

Laurent deserves credit for holding second in the stretch. With Practical Joke on top, how far this closer ultimately wants to go seems like a good question to ask as the distances increase, although there are great stamina influences on the bottom side of this filly’s pedigree.

Note Laurent’s second dam London Mist, who is a daughter of Afleet Alex and a half-sister to Last Gunfighter, who won $1.2 million as a stakes router.

Considering Gate to Paradise remains a maiden, her progression is one to watch as well. The conservative trainer John Shirreffs does not enter maidens in Grade 1 races unless he sees something. Remember that at this point last year, Skinner ran third as a maiden in the Del Mar Futurity (G1).

As for the blog choice Chatalas in fourth, she just came up empty in the stretch after putting herself in a great position for the first half-mile. Perhaps Chatalas needs more time to develop in smaller stakes races or allowance races before entering the biggest graded-stakes races. 

Forget about the modest speed figure for Tamara. This filly looks like a star right now, and it will come as a surprise if she does not continue to progress in that direction after dominating these fillies in the easiest way possible. The path is a long one, but Tamara could end up as the successor to Beholder.