A Pair of Queens for King's Equine

ARCADIA, CA – As the unbeaten Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) looks to emulate her legendary dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the duo have something else in common that you won't be able to find in Friday's program at Santa Anita.

Before heading out to join Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in Southern California, they were both broken and trained on behalf of Spendthrift Farm at Raul and Martha Reyes's King's Equine in Ocala, Florida.

Like mother, like daughter?

“Actually, Tamara was a little different as a yearling than Beholder was,” Raul Reyes said. “Tamara was a little bit more of a rebel. She was a little harder to break for a couple of weeks–she had her own mind. Then, she changed and became a regular filly. On the other side, Beholder was very pleasant all the time. She never gave you any trouble.”

Reyes continued, “Beholder was a little more stocky and had more muscle. Tamara has really filled out since Mandella has had her.”

Tamara is the fourth foal produced by the four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner. Beholder's first two offspring–Q B One (g, 5, by Uncle Mo) and Karin With an I (f, 4, by Curlin)–failed to find the winner's circle and were a combined 0-for-6 at the races. Tamara's 3-year-old half-sister Teena Ella (War Front), winner of this spring's grassy GIII Senorita S. at Santa Anita, became Beholder's first winner as a broodmare in February.

Beholder's yearling colt by Curlin, meanwhile, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale this summer. Barren for 2023, Beholder was covered by Jackie's Warrior for next season.

Tamara, ears up, toying with the competition in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. | Benoit

Reyes and Mandella would often chat about and compare notes on Beholder's offspring during Mandella's visits to King's Equine, Reyes said. Mandella has trained all of Beholder's progeny to date.

“I told him that I didn't know how good this filly (Tamara) was going to be, but she sure was better than her siblings,” Reyes said. “I broke all of Beholder's (offspring) and Tamara looked more racey. She breezed way better than all of them–way way better. She used to outrun the company when I used to breeze her here. The filly before her (Teena Ella) won a Grade III and she was O.K. But Tamara was exceptional. We didn't know that she'd go on and win these races like that. But she was the best one of the siblings by far.”

Carrying the namesake of B. Wayne Hughes's daughter–sounds like the folks at Spendthrift concurred with Reyes's assessment–Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19.

Tamara ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite and then some with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. Tamara will be heavily favored as she tries two turns for the first time in the Juvenile Fillies. She has been installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite.

“The way she runs, she makes you think that she's gonna be alright,” Reyes said.

Beholder seeks to become the fifth Breeders' Cup winner to also produce a winner at the two-day Championships.

Living the American Dream…

Growing up a mile from the racetrack in his native Tijuana, Mexico, Reyes wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, a quarter horse jockey in Texas. Reyes began working on the backstretch at the tender age of 10 back in 1975–yes, you read that correctly–and just six years later, began to pursue his career in the saddle in California.

“I came to the United States and worked for a couple of good trainers, but I was too big to be a jockey,” Reyes said. “I had to quit riding when I was like 20. It was hard for me because I couldn't speak English very well. Can you imagine? It's hard enough for an American kid to make it here.”

King's Equine's Raul Reyes | Fasig-Tipton

Reyes subsequently relocated to Florida to begin training and caught his big break while working the yearling sales for Taylor Made in Kentucky. Everything began to fall into place from there.

“They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime,” Reyes said. “That opened my eyes. I learned how to sell horses and how to deal with people. I must say, my friend (Taylor Made's Vice President of Sales) Frank Taylor, he's the one who really made it happen for me. He introduced me to all these good people–the biggest clients in the world all come to Taylor Made. And then I met Wayne. That's really how I got started.”

Wayne, of course, is B. Wayne Hughes, the late founder of Spendthrift Farm who passed away in 2021.

“We became pretty good friends,” Reyes said. “And we've had pretty good success together. They are great people to work with.”

Reyes typically trains approximately 100 head at his 84-acre training center and is also a leading consignor at the 2-year-old-in-training sales. Spendthrift Farm has been a client of his for nearly two decades now.

“We try to keep it simple,” Reyes said. “It can get very complicated if you start looking for ways to do it differently. People have been doing this for a 100 years. They say the good things don't change.”

In addition to Beholder and Tamara, other King's Equine training graduates include: champion Letruska (Super Saver); MGISW Miss Temple City (Temple City); GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Silver Train (Old Trieste); and GISWs Jimmy Creed (Distorted Humor) and Hit the Road (More Than Ready).

King's Equine's 2-year-old sale alumni include: GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) ($200,000 2yo '20 EASMAY); MGSW millionaire Stanford (Malibu Moon) ($550,000 2yo '14 BARMAR); MGSW Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) ($140,000 2yo '17 BARMAR); and GSW and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) ($245,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR).

“I've been in Ocala for 25 years already,” Reyes said. “This is a place that's been very good to me. That's a lot of good seasons that I've had here now.”

Reyes's 2023 season is about to get even better at 2:40 p.m. PT on Friday afternoon.