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Spendthrift Farm's two-time champion Beholder spiked a temperature of 104 degrees the morning of Oct. 19 and will not be able to defend her title in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita Park, trainer Richard Mandella said. "She had a nice work yesterday and seemed to be doing OK, but when we got to the barn this morning she was showing a temperature of 102 degrees. It got up to 104." Mandella said. "We've treated her with penicillin and the temperature has already started to go down. "We think she's going to be all right," the Hall of Fame trainer added. "But she's out of the race." Beholder went seven furlongs Oct. 18 at Santa Anita, starting behind two workmates, in a bullet 1:23 4/5 under Mike Smith. The 4-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes would have likely been favored Oct. 31 to successfully repeat her Distaff victory of last year, which followed a triumph in the 2012 Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Beholder is the second major defection from the Breeders' Cup. Two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan was recently ruled out of defending his title in the Breeders Cup Mile Nov. 1 because of an ankle injury. A 10-time winner from 15 starts with earnings of $3,368,300, Beholder won Eclipse Awards in 2012 as outstanding juvenile filly and in 2013 as outstanding 3-year-old filly. Beholder, out of the Tricky Creek mare Leslie's Lady, is scheduled to be sold at the Fasig-Tipton November sale. She has had a difficult year, bruising a pastern in the Ogden Phipps Stakes in her second start of the season at Belmont Park June 7. She returned from the injury with a victory in the Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita Sept. 27 and had been training forwardly for her next Breeders' Cup assault.
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