Tamara back with a bang; Mission of Joy up in time in Rodeo Drive

As a Grade 1-winning daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder, Tamara might well have been retired after various setbacks confined her to one start in the past two years. But owner/breeder Spendthrift Farm stuck with the talented filly, and she repaid their faith with a spectacular comeback in Saturday’s $100,000 Chillingworth (G3) at Santa Anita. 

While Tamara ran herself into the discussion for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), Mission of Joy earned her way into the Filly & Mare Turf (G1) by getting up on the wire in the “Win and You’re In” Rodeo Drive (G2).

Chillingworth (G3)

Trained by Richard Mandella, like Beholder, Tamara immediately captured the imagination in her first two starts as a juvenile at Del Mar. A touch more precocious than Beholder, arguably due to the influence of sire Bolt d’Oro, Tamara romped in the 2023 Del Mar Debutante (G1). 

But the bubble burst when Tamara tried to follow in Beholder’s hoofsteps in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). Unable to emulate her dam’s victory, she wound up seventh as the 4-5 favorite and exited the race with an injury. 

Out of action for a year, Tamara returned in an allowance during Del Mar’s Bing Crosby season last November and just missed by a nose. That solid effort was intended to set her up for the Malibu (G1), until she came down with an illness. Worse was to come.

“She was supposed to run opening day,” Mandella said of the traditional Dec. 26 kickoff of Santa Anita’s winter meet. “(Then in January), she kicked the rail coming onto the track and chipped a sesamoid. We had the chip removed and put her out to rest. It looks good now.”

Indeed, Tamara looked better than ever when disposing of four rivals in the Chillingworth. Sent off as the 2-5 favorite with Hall of Famer Mike Smith aboard, the homebred intently tracked Silent Law through fast fractions of :21.83 and :44.06. 

Tamara ranged alongside the pacesetter, rounding the far turn, and under the mildest of hand rides, bid her adieu. The bay galloped by 3 3/4 lengths while polishing off 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.21.

“She was very eager leaving there,” Smith said.” She actually wanted to go head-to-head with (Silent Law), and I had to talk her out of it a little bit. 

“Once she hit her left lead, she hit another gear and I thought, ‘Oh my, she’s back.’ I think I’m blowing more than she is from just trying to pull her up.”

Silent Law was all alone in second, 14 1/2 lengths clear of Ang N Ash. Chismosa and Baela concluded the order of finish.

Tamara’s resume now reads 5-3-1-0, $321,400. If the four-year-old can stay healthy, another Breeders’ Cup bid beckons. 

“We’re looking at the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint next,” Mandella said. “You really couldn't ask for it to go any better today. Now we have to see how she comes out of this race.”

Rodeo Drive (G2)

As a blueblood from Sam-Son Farm, Mission of Joy always promised to develop into a smart performer, and she had her moments for original trainer Graham Motion. Yet the Kitten’s Joy mare didn’t quite reach the pinnacle as she occasionally hinted.

A change of scenery to Phil D’Amato in Southern California, where the turf is firm and the competition relatively softer, has apparently galvanized her. Making her third start for the barn in the $201,500 Rodeo Drive, she scored a new career high at odds of 11.90-1.

Mission of Joy didn’t telegraph that for the first nine furlongs or so, as she was held up in sixth behind a modest tempo. Up front, Alpha Bella was getting away with splits of :23.63, :48.44, 1:13.04, and 1:37.36.

Amber Cascade, the 9-5 favorite, and Starry Heavens appeared to be in the right stalking spots. But in the stretch, they didn’t pick up as anticipated.

The first big move came from Kentucky shipper Speed Shopper, who burst through along the rail. The 14.50-1 shot was poised to give trainer Will Walden a cross-country double, after Rhetorical in the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland. 

But inside the final furlong, hot-riding Umberto Rispoli conjured up a whirlwind charge from Mission of Joy. Heading Speed Shopper on the line, the five-year-old mare clocked 1 1/4 miles in 2:00.03.

Starry Heavens boxed on for third, followed by Alpha Bella, Amber Cascade, Long Ago, and defending champion Hang the Moon. Watchtower, who was never traveling at the rear, was pulled up and walked off.

RyZan Sun Racing and Madaket Stables’ Mission of Joy, who furnished $25.80, has compiled a record of 21-6-0-4, $680,667. The chestnut enjoyed her most productive campaign as a three-year-old. Victorious in the 2023 Regret (G3) at Churchill Downs and the Florida Oaks (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, she placed in the Edgewood (G2) (with a nearly catastrophic trip) and in Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1). 

Mission of Joy’s best result of 2024 was a close third in the Just a Game (G1) at Saratoga. But she became an underachiever thereafter, prompting her transfer to a new circuit. While a fading sixth in the Yellow Ribbon (G2) wasn’t an auspicious beginning, Mission of Joy showed something of her old spark with a rallying third in the John C. Mabee (G2). She put it all together in the Rodeo Drive. 

“I had a really good trip,” said Rispoli, who won four races on the card. “She settled right where I wanted, and once I took her outside, she showed an incredible turn of foot. She prefers to come around horses instead of going through small gaps, and she responded beautifully today. I hadn’t worked with her before this race, but she gave me all the confidence out there.”

D’Amato credited Rispoli for figuring her out.

“I think she definitely needs to be ridden in that European style, just kind of getting covered up, just timing the run just right, and getting her to the outside. I thought Umberto did a fantastic job of getting that achieved today,” the trainer said.

“She just has one style and that usually gets her the best outcome, to kind of sit back and come with a run. Whether it works out or not, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t, but today it did. I think also, she came from back East, and the owner said that every time they ran her on a firm turf course, she ran a better race. We get plenty of that in California, and that has helped her out as well.”  

D'Amato and Rispoli later combined to win the finale on the card, the $103,500 Speakeasy S. for juvenile turf sprinters, with Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables, and Marsha Naify’s Later Than Planned.

Overlooked at 10.30-1 after a seventh in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf (G3), the Irish import thrived on the cutback and mowed down front-running Bacio by a half-length. Later Than Planned ripped five furlongs in :55.85 to advertise his candidacy for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). 

Schwarzenegger was scratched in favor of the Indian Summer S. at Keeneland Sunday.