Cavalieri conquers the Beholder Mile (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif. — Cavalieri remained perfect in four starts and bagged her first Grade I win Saturday when running down stablemate Richi in the $300,000 B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile presented by FanDuel TV at Santa Anita. Both fillies are trained by Bob Baffert.
Sent off the even-money favorite under Juan Hernandez, Cavalieri pressed pacesetter Richi as the latter proceeded to carve out sharp fractions of 22.56 and 46.24 seconds for the opening half mile. On the second turn, Hernandez started to ask Cavalieri for more. Richi, meanwhile, was continuing to race comfortably under Antonio Fresu when reaching the quarter pole in 1:09.73.
It took a determined effort from Cavalieri through the stretch to run down her stubborn stablemate, who was stretching out in distance after a series of sprints efforts. Cavalieri was finally able to surge past Richi inside the sixteenth pole and won by three-quarters of a length.
Cavalieri’s winning time was 1:34.96.
“We always knew she would be a superstar,” Baffert said of the winner. “I’m proud of both horses. That was racehorse time.”
This was Baffert’s second win in the Beholder Mile, which was previously known as the Vanity. He also won in 2022 with As Time Goes By.
Eastern shipper Tarifa (5-1), ridden by Mike Smith, finished some 6 ½ lengths back in third to earn her second Grade I-placing for trainer Brad Cox. She was followed across the wire by Hoosier Philly (6-1), Alpha Bella (6-1) and Ultimate Authority (18-1).
Hernandez has ridden Cavalieri in all four of her victories. Most recently, they teamed to win the GIII La Canada on Jan. 19 at Santa Anita.
“Richi is a really nice filly. I was tracking her and to be honest, I was riding hard,” Hernandez said. “I wanted her to pick it up. When I started to make my move, (Richi) started to make her move too so we both moved at the same time. My filly just gave me another gear at the eighth pole and she won the race. She is getting better and she showed that today.”
Cavalieri is a 4-year-old Nyquist filly owned by Speedway Stables. She was purchased for $900,000 at the 2023 OBS Spring sale of 2-year-olds in training. Cavalieri won her debut in August at Del Mar and came back to win an allowance at Santa Anita in October, both going a mile. In the La Canada, Cavalieri attended the pace and scored by 1 ¼ lengths over runner-up Alpha Bella.
Peter Fluor of Speedway Stables, which also campaigned 2021 champion 2-year-old male Corniche, discussed the purchase of Cavalieri. Cavalieri’s dam is the Stephen Got Even mare Stiffed, a five-time winner who twice placed in graded stakes.
“Marette Farrell who helps us as a bloodstock agent, loved her physical,” Fluor said from the Winner’s Circle. “Her breeding, well, Nyquist speaks for itself. Kind of beyond that you just kind of keep your fingers crossed. K.C. Weiner, my partner and I are obviously thrilled with this victory today.”
Cavalieri paid $4.20, $2.80 and $2.10. Richi returned $3.40 and $2.60 and Tarifa paid $2.80.
