Beholder Settling in Well.

Retirement looks good on Beholder. Since her arrival at Spendthrift on November 21st, Queen B has been adjusting quite well to farm life. Though she may no longer be in the winter warmth of California, Kentucky suites her well. The rolling pastures set with dark fences act as the perfect backdrop to the life of leisure that is Beholder’s role to occupy. She is quite content with her current situation, heading to her paddock at 8 A.M. every morning, accompanied by her new best friend and pasturemate, Bound.

Beholder and Bound are a dynamic duo. Bound on her own is a large mare, a multiple stakes winning dark brown daughter of highly successful broodmare sire Jump Start. However, side by side in the pasture with Beholder, her looks are average compared to the big bay champion. The two saunter about the paddock together, chomping on grass and ears perking as the occasional farm hand drives by on a Gator. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Santa Anita, Spendthrift is a much more laid back atmosphere, as any post-race career would be.

Watching Beholder trot across the field is a thing of beauty. Her extension and grace is unparalleled. Equally unparalleled is her eagerness to investigate whether or not her visitors are bringing her her choice of snack, a peppermint. Staff has been eager to try to wean her off her mint addiction and incorporate some health food in carrots, but her mint desire may be too high to ever fully overcome.

She had a doting visitor in Fred Mitchell of Clarkland Farm last week, the man who bred her and still owns her dam, Leslie’s Lady. Fred also bred Into Mischief, Beholder’s half-brother, and hit a lucrative gold mine is his mare Leslie’s Lady. She and her offspring have brought him to the highest echelons of success within the industry. Climbing over the rails into Beholder’s paddock laden with peppermints, it was as though Fred had been reunited with a dear old friend, and Beholder was equally keen to see him.

Under the watchful eye of broodmare manager Aimee Compton and assistant broodmare manager Paul Seitz, Beholder is thriving on the farm. As she settles into her routine, we look ahead to her bright future. In February, she will be bred to Coolmore Stud’s Uncle Mo, Champion Second-Crop-Sire and number three on the Leading Sires list. He has reached unprecedented levels of success with his first two crops, as his very first crop yielded Champion Two-Year-Old and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, along with an abundance of other graded stakes winners.

We are excited to have Beholder here at Spendthrift on this next chapter of her life. She is a champion of a mare, and even if she never went on to produce any offspring with her talent, she would still be one of the greatest blessings Spendthrift has ever received. We will continue to update her fans as she continues her life here in Kentucky. Thank you to everyone who has joined us on the ride so far.