Stellar Wind edges Vale Dori in Beholder Mile

ARCADIA » Stellar Wind beat Vale Dori by a neck to win the $400,000 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Ridden by Victor Espinoza, Stellar Wind nudged in front nearing the finish line after dueling with pacesetter Vale Dori throughout the Grade 1 race.

Stellar Wind ran the mile in 1:36.14 and paid $3 to win as the 1-2 favorite. Finest City was another 4 3/4 lengths back in third. There was no place or show wagering because of the three-horse field.

Still, it was plenty dramatic.

Vale Dori broke from the rail and took off running, leaving Stellar Wind and jockey Rafael Bejarano in chase mode while Finest City brought up the rear most of the way under Hall of Famer Mike Smith. Vale Dori resisted when challenged by Stellar Wind approaching the top of the stretch before giving up the lead in midstretch and then fighting back inside only to get edged out in the closing strides.

“She has so much power that it’s hard for any other horse to beat her when it comes to head-and-head down the lane,” Espinoza said.

Stellar Wind challenged Vale Dori passing the quarter pole and Espinoza went to a lefthanded whip. The 5-yearold chestnut mare gained a slim lead in mid-stretch when Espinoza switched to a right-handed whip and she held on while running outside of Vale Dori.

“I wasn’t worried. She’s always like that in the stretch. She won’t do much on her own,” Espinoza said. “I have to encourage her to go forward. She’s been like that from the first day I rode her.”

Trained by John Sadler, Stellar Wind was coming off a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom in April, her only other start this year. She has nine wins in 14 career starts. The victory, worth $240,000, made her a millionaire, with earnings of $1,053,200.