Mike Smith is all smiles after Tamara, a 2-year-old daughter of Bolt d’Oro out of Beholder, gained the FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante

If the Breeders’ Cup is Thoroughbred racing’s coronation ball, then jockey Mike Smith has earned a status as a number one women’ man, having escorted among the sport’s main females to the Fall dance.

Smith, the Breeders’ Cup’s all-time chief in each races and cash earned at racing’s model of the Fall Traditional, shall be a astride his newest distaff star-in-the-making, the unbeaten Tamara, within the Nov. 3 NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

The bay filly made such a powerful impression on the Corridor-of-Fame rider that he is stated, “she may change into the most effective 2-year-old I’ve ridden.” Certainly, that is excessive reward from somebody who’s been aboard a dozen filly or mare Breeders’ Cup winners, together with Horses of the 12 months Zenyatta and Azeri.

“She’s solely two and she or he’s had solely had two profession begins, so she has an extended solution to go,” stated Smith, “however she’s about nearly as good as you’d prefer to see. I used to be shocked, pleasantly, by how simply she gained the Del Mar Debutante in her final race. She’s only a push button horse.”

Certainly, her almost seven-length victory over the most effective of her division in California has earned her favoritism for the 1-1/16 mile juvenile fillies championship occasion.

In fact, Smith, a two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey with greater than 5,000 profession victories, shall be without end linked with the good Zenyatta, who earned two Breeders’ Cup wins together with the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Traditional (G1) versus male competitors when her patented deadly stretch cost swallowed up her opposition. However, Smith has additionally gained the Breeders’ Cup races with such different particular distaff stalwarts as Inside Data, whose successful margin was a report 13-1/2 lengths; two-time winner Royal Delta, and Songbird, who Smith compares very favorably with Tamara.

He has additionally utilized each ounce of his famend expertise to coax the mare Mizdirection to consecutive victories over male rivals in memorable Breeders’ Cup’s turf sprints. And, for good measure, the 56-year-old rider has notched a dozen of his Breeders’ Cup wins aboard the fairer intercourse, together with three within the Juvenile Filly division—from the place the long run stars of racing emerge.

Thus, it might appear that Mike has laid a strong basis for his prowess with the women in seasonal championships and can be thought-about a superb evaluator of expertise. “I’ve been blessed to have ridden so many particular fillies and mares,” recalled Smith, “and I by no means take that without any consideration, since you by no means know if it may be the final one. And, then, one other one like Tamara comes round,” he added.

Tamara is a daughter of the good champion Beholder, herself a four-time Eclipse Award winner and a record-tying three-time winner of Breeders’ Cup championships. Her coach, one other Corridor of Fame connection, Richard Mandella, additionally circumstances Tamara. Mandella all the time revered Beholder as the most effective horse he is skilled and now he has her daughter primed to select up the place her mom left off.

“Clearly, she an especially proficient filly. She all the time does issues so simply,” Mandella stated, “and retains asking for extra. She’s obtained a fantastic thoughts and a really candy temperament. She does every little thing so professionally.

Mandella has been repeatedly requested to match mom and daughter. He said, “Tamara could be very totally different from Beholder and it is troublesome to essentially examine. Nonetheless, I would most likely say at this stage of their careers, Tamara might be slightly forward in her improvement. However the one factor they’ve in widespread is that they each favored to run.”

Sarcastically, it was Beholder, within the ultimate race of her profession, that denied Songbird, ridden by Smith, of an unbeaten championship season within the 2016 Championships. Smith recollects that epic race by saying, “It is exhausting to essentially say there was a loser in that race, as a result of these two have been such good mares. Despite the fact that we obtained the quick finish of the photograph end, I felt like there was actually no loser.”

When requested about the identical recollection, Mandella wryly famous, “I simply watched the videotape of that race the opposite day.”

It was the latest time Mandella, a nine-time winner, hoisted a Breeders’ Cup trophy. Taking no possibilities, he is enlisted the Breeders’ Cup’s main women’ man in Smith to reverse these fortunes. This 12 months, they will be on the identical staff.