Richard Mandella: Breeders' Cup Trainer Profile

There aren’t many trainers who sent out a horse in the first Breeders’ Cup World Championships who are also sending out horses—favorites, even!—in the 40th edition. Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella has done just that.

Naturally, you can bet which of this trainer's horses will win their Breeders Cup race at FanDuel Racing. Also, discover 2023 Breeders’ Cup betting odds and exciting betting Bonus and Promos on FanDuel.

Richard Mandella in the Breeders’ Cup

Mandella has run 48 horses in the Breeders’ Cup, dating all the way back to when he started Pirate’s Glow in the first-ever Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1984. She only finished ninth, but in general, Mandella’s strike rate at the festival has been excellent. He has nine wins from those 48 starts, as well as another 10 who have finished either second or third.

Breeders’ Cup Races on the Main Track

Seven of Mandella’s nine Breeders’ Cup victories have come on the main track. His most successful race has been the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. He has won that race three times with Phone Chatter (1993), Halfbridled (2003), and Beholder (2012). Beholder also won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff twice, in 2015 and 2016. His other wins on dirt happened the same year as Halfbridled, 2003: Action This Day won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, while Pleasantly Perfect won the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Breeders’ Cup Races on Turf

In addition to his seven wins in Breeders’ Cup races on the main track, Mandela also has two wins on the lawn. Both of those have come in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. He won in 1993 with Kotashaan, and then again in 2003 with Johar.

2003: A Charmed Year

Richard Mandella set a Breeders’ Cup record in 2003, becoming the first trainer to win four Breeder’s Cup races in a single year. He swept the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Turf, Juvenile, and Juvenile Fillies. Since then, only one other trainer has won four Breeders’ Cup races in a single year: Brad Cox, who won the Distaff, Juvenile, Dirt Mile, and Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2020. However, Mandela did it with fewer races: there were only eight festival races in 2001, while there were 14 in 2020. Both Mandella and Cox did it with a similar number of starters, though: Mandella ran seven in 2003, while despite the larger number of races, Cox ran just eight starters in 2020.

Looking Ahead to 2023

Richard Mandella has pre-entered horses in three Breeders’ Cup races on November 3 and 4 at host track Santa Anita Park. Those include a pair of dirt horses who are likely to be among the favorites in their races, as well as one on the grass who is awaiting some reserve-list magic.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies

Mandella has started only five horses in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and this has been one of the places where his reputation for carefully spotting his horse has come into sharp focus. Three of his five starters in this race have taken home top honors: Phone Chatter, Halfbridled, and Beholder.

Tamara

Fittingly, Richard Mandella’s first starter in the Juvenile Fillies since the Hall of Fame mare Beholder is her daughter by Bolt d’Oro, Tamara. Like both of her parents, Tamara has exemplified precocity and class during her juvenile season.

Neither of Tamara’s races have started well: she stumbled out of the gate on debut, and bumped with a long shot in the next stall in the Del Mar Debutante (G1). Both times, it didn’t matter. She tracked in range of the pace both times. In her maiden win, she overtook the leader in the lane. In that Grade 1 debut, she instead made her move on the turn. Both times, she drew off to impressive victories: a 2 ¼-length margin on debut, and a 6 ¾ length gap in the Debutante.

Off of those two efforts, she will be a heavy favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She does still have to answer the two-turn question: her maiden win came at 6 ½ furlongs, the Del Mar Debutante covered seven. However, this 1 1/16-mile distance should be within her scope. After all, both Bolt d’Oro and Beholder won Grade 1 races at that distance as juveniles.

Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint

Richard Mandella’s biggest stars have typically been middle-distance or long-distance horses. In line with this, he rarely starts horses in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He has only started three horses in the Turf Sprint, with none of them finishing better than eighth.

Lane Way

As of the pre-entries, Lane Way is fourth on the reserve list for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He will need some luck to draw into the field. Though there are two horses ahead of him who are entered in two races, the Turf Sprint is the first preference for both. Being fourth on the reserve list means he should at least get a spot on the also-eligible list if he enters, since that list can go four deep. However, he will need some last-minute defections in order to make the field on race day.

A six-year-old, Lane Way, has found his footing as a turf sprinter these last two years. He was second in the Green Flash (G3), the Eddie D (G2), and the Joe Hernandez (G2) last year. He earned his first stakes win in the Clocker’s Corner in January, beating Turf Sprint entrant Motorious. Off until September, he finished fifth behind Motorious in his return in the Green Flash, but got the best of a blanket finish in the Eddie D this year, a race run over the flat turf and not down the hill.

That form over the flat turf should help Lane Way if he draws in, as the Breeders’ Cup will not be run down the hill. However, the Breeders’ Cup will be run over a five-furlong trip: not the 6 ½ of the Eddie D. Though Lane Way’s tactical speed is an asset, five-furlong speed is a whole different ball game compared to 6 ½-furlong speed, something that may put Lane Way in tough straits.

He may also be a serious underlay on the tote board if he draws in: “syndicate money,” or the phenomenon of large groups of owners all betting their horse, is a real thing. With Lane Way being owned by MyRacehorse, he stands to be just as popular on the tote board as he is on social media, meaning betting value will likely lie elsewhere.

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