Grade 1 winner Tamara needs ankle surgery, out until summer

Tamara, who has raced only once since her lone Grade 1 victory in the 2023 Del Mar Debutante, had another setback that will require surgery this week.

The 4-year-old filly bred and owned by Spendthrift Farm hurt her ankle after training late last month at Santa Anita.

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“She kicked the rail coming back from the track,” trainer Richard Mandella said Sunday in a text message to Horse Racing Nation. “She has a small chip that has to be removed.”

The story was posted first by Daily Racing Form, which reported that Tamara could be back to racing near the end of the Del Mar summer meet.

Tamara, who is by Bolt d’Oro out of Hall of Fame mare Beholder, raced three times as a 2-year-old. She broke her maiden in her Del Mar debut in August 2023 and followed that three weeks later with her Futurity score.

As the 4-5 favorite that fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar, Tamara finished 12th and was reported after the race to have been injured. She spent a year on the bench before coming back in November with a nose loss in a six-furlong allowance race at Del Mar.

Tamara had been pointed to the La Brea (G1) on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita before she was reported to have an illness. She returned to the work tab with drills Jan. 19 and 26 before getting hurt again.