Already a powerhouse in one-turn graded stakes,Splendora looks to extend her graded stakes dominance to two turns in the $300,000 B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile (G1) over the Santa Anita Park main track March 7.
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the 5-year-old daughter of Audible is coming off a 1 3/4-length victory in the 7-furlong D. Wayne Lukas Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita. Her first start of the year was won comfortably, having no challengers in the late stretch. Last fall at age 4, she won the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), another one-turn 7-furlong at Del Mar. In her lone attempt at a two-turn mile, Splendora won the ungraded Tranquility Lake Stakes at Del Mar Sep. 1.
Owned by Boyd Racing and Talla Racing, Splendora has six wins from 11 starts and earnings of $980,800.
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Baffert also sends out Nafisa. In her last start, she won the Jan. 24 La Canada Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita by 4 3/4 lengths. The 5-year-old mare is looking to make it four wins in a row. After breaking her maiden on the 13th try, she has not lost since. The daughter of Quality Road is owned by Zedan Racing, who, via bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, purchased her for $1.8 million at Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale in Upstate New York in 2022.
The Baffert duo faces two eastern shippers: Dazzling Move, trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., and Bless the Broken, trained by Brad Cox.
The latter's lone start came as a 4-year-old came Jan. 9 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, where she won an allowance optional claiming race by 2 lengths. As a 3-year-old, she was third in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs for different ownership and trainer Will Walden. The Qatar Racing and Mountmellick Farm-owned Laoban filly was a $950,000 purchase from The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton in Kentucky last fall.
The Beholder Mile is the fourth race on an 11-race card.
Gas Me Up, EL Potente Meet again in Kilroe Mile
Later on the card at Santa Anita, Gas Me Up and El Potente square off again in the $200,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G2T) on the Santa Anita turf.
El Potente, trained by Dan Blacker, is coming off a 3 3/4-length victory at Santa Anita in the Feb. 7 Thunder Road Stakes (G3T), which he won for the second year in a row. The 7-year-old son of Temple City owned by My Way Racing has seven wins from 17 starts.
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Gas Me Up, trained by Peter Eurton for owners Exline-Border Racing, Michael Jawl, Aaron Kennedy, and Tom Zwiesler, looks to even the score on El Potente after running second to him in the Thunder Road Stakes. The 6-year-old son of Hard Spun won his first start back with Eurton, the Joe Hernandez Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Dec. 29. Eurton had him as a 2-year-old before being moved to trainer Kevin Attard. Under Attard's training, he competed in the 2025 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), running seventh.
Also in the field is Almendares, third most recently in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1T) at Gulfstream Park. The 6-year-old son of Havana Grey is back in the West Coast-based stable of Phil D'Amato in search of his first graded victory. He has eight graded placings and a minor stakes win in the 2025 Wickerr Stakes.
The Frank E. Kilroe Mile is the ninth race preceding the historic Santa Anita Handicap (G1).
Santa Anita Park, Saturday, March 7, 2026, Race 4Entries: B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile S. presented by FanDuel (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Om N Joy (CA) Kent J. Desormeaux 122 Aggie Ordonez 5/1 2 2Simply Joking (PA) Emisael Jaramillo 120 Michael W. McCarthy 5/1 3 3Dazzling Move (ON) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 8/1 4 4Splendora (MD) Juan J. Hernandez 120 Bob Baffert 4/5 5 5Bless the Broken (KY) Florent Geroux 120 Brad H. Cox 6/1 6 6Nafisa (KY) Kazushi Kimura 122 Bob Baffert 8/1
Santa Anita Park, Saturday, March 7, 2026, Race 9Entries: Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. (G2T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Mi Hermano Ramon (KY) Antonio Fresu 120 Mark Glatt 5/1 2 2Almendares (GB) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Philip D'Amato 9/2 3 3El Potente (FL) Hector Isaac Berrios 122 Dan Blacker 5/2 4 4Gas Me Up (ON) Mirco Demuro 122 Peter Eurton 7/2 5 5Cabo Spirit (KY) Mike E. Smith 122 George Papaprodromou 10/1 6 6Mi Bago (NY) Emisael Jaramillo 120 Mark E. Casse 10/1 7 7Final Boss (KY) Juan J. Hernandez 120 John W. Sadler 8/1 8 8Astronomer (KY) Florent Geroux 120 Simon Callaghan 8/1
