Beholder-led Older Dirt Female division starting to heat up

Beholder is back, which is always welcome news for the sport, but she is not the only older dirt female to make noise in the past few weeks. Impressive wins by the older girls have come in bunches of late, making this a division on the move. In fact, perhaps only a Triple Crown run by Nyquist withstanding, a stellar group of experienced mares all pointing for one of two races will make this the most exciting and interesting division over the next calendar month. We are always in the wait and see mode in the game of Thoroughbred horse racing, but looking ahead to what might be in store for us on consecutive Saturdays in early June is enough to make your mouth water.

Set for June 4 at Santa Anita, the Grade 1 Vanity Mile will be first and foremost about Beholder, but the eight-furlong affair is actually shaping us a legitimate test for the three-time champion. Considering the lack of competition Beholder has found in California over the last few years, this could be coming together as her most difficult assignment on her home turf, err dirt, in a long time.

Stellar Wind – Last year’s Champion Three-Year-Old Filly was a model of consistency in 2015. All six of her starts came in graded stakes, and only a narrow second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and an unlucky fourth in the Kentucky Oaks, kept the Virginia-bred daughter of Curlin from having a perfect season. The Vanity Mile will be her initial go as an older filly, but her perfect 4-for-4 record in Southern California, as well as, her additional year of maturity, clearly make the returning champion a horse to watch on June 4 and beyond.

Taris – All you need to do is look at her most recent race. Her performance on Kentucky Derby Day in the seven furlong, Grade 1 Humana Distaff was an eye-opener. Long a mare with big talent, but slightly inconsistent results, the five-year-old daughter of Flatter turned in a career best effort, while running off by nearly six lengths in 1:21 flat. Now the winner of three of her last four, she may be turning the corner, and ready to take on the nation’s best, especially at distances of one mile or less, like she will find in the Vanity.

Beholder – Then there’s the champ. The Queen of American racing in recent years just keeps on keeping on. After a facile score in the Adoration Stakes on May 8, Beholder formally announced that she is ready to pick up right where she left off last year. A three-time Eclipse Award winner, and two-time Breeders’ Cup winner, the six-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes has now won 16-of-21 lifetime. Unfortunately, she was forced to miss the last two editions of the Breeders’ Cup, but as commanding as she looked last Sunday, albeit against lesser competition, the scary proposition for her competition is that she may be as good or better than ever.

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Meanwhile, on the East Coast, a whale of a race is shaping up the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps on Belmont Stakes Day. To be run on June 11 at Belmont Park, the 1 1/16-mile race has attracted several quality fields of late, and 2016 promises to be no different. Unlike Beholder, and the Vanity Mile, this one may be far harder to predict which top mare is the one to beat.

Curalina – A promising newcomer to Grade 1 racing last year, the daughter of Curlin, looks ready to take things up a notch judging from her performance on Kentucky Oaks Day. Like Stellar Wind, a still lightly raced daughter of Curlin with a penchant for consistency, it can be easily argued that the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners owned four-year-old was never better than she was in her most recent start. Making her first start of 2016, Curalina made it clear that she is ready to embark on a campaign that could be even better than the dual Grade 1 winning season of 2015. The 7 ½-length win in the Grade 1 La Troienne was that good.

Cavorting – Likewise, Cavorting looked like a million bucks and then some in her most recent start. That came just two days ago in Saturday’s Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes. Looking the race favorite Carrumba right in the eye, and going right by, the daughter of Bernardini once again got her name back on people’s lips with a five-length romp. Already a four-time stakes winner sprinting, Cavorting seemed right at home going a mile over the Belmont track, which will be just half a furlong less than the Ogden Phipps, if that is where her connections choose to spot her next.

Forever Unbridled – On my radar since her debut at Churchill Downs 18 months ago, the full sister of Grade 1 winner Unbridled Forever, Forever Unbridled is another filly that I believe has turned the corner to bigger and better things of late. Not quite ready for primetime when the Kentucky Oaks rolled around last spring, the Dallas Stewart-trained miss has been patiently handled, and is now getting better with each and every start. In her latest, she proved much the best in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom one month ago at Oaklawn Park, for her third straight graded stakes victory.

Sheer Drama – One of the few mares on this list not coming off an impressive win, Sheer Drama has nonetheless proven to be one of the top older dirt females in the land for trainer, David Fawkes. The winner of three Grade 1 races in her last five starts, she did not fire her best shot as the favorite when beaten by Curalina last time. The La Troienne did not suit the six-year-old’s preferred set-up, but one race prior, she showed her true colors with a dynamite win in the Grade 1 Madison at Keeneland, in which she got the best of Breeders’ Cup winner Stopchargingmaria in a spirited stretch drive.

Stopchargingmaria – Speaking of Maria, that lone performance of 2016 may have ended in defeat at the hands of Sheer Drama, but it was certainly nothing in which to be ashamed. Long one of the more underrated horses in training, the five-year-old Mike Repole owned mare put that nonsense to rest once and for all with a determined victory over Stellar Wind in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Looking at the excellent mare’s career in totality, she has won more than half of her career starts (9-of-17), while running exclusively in graded stakes company since breaking her maiden in her career debut at Saratoga nearly three years ago.

I don’t think it would be much of a stretch to call this group the best eight older dirt females in the country right now. Three for the Vanity Mile, and five for the Ogden Phipps. You can see why, all of a sudden, I am so excited again to see the big girls run.