She was the talk of Del Mar in the summer of 2023. The sleek, brown filly named Tamara stole the hearts of race fans, especially those who are nostalgic about the offspring of past champions.

But she was injured in the Breeders’ Cup later in that year and has not raced in 2024. Her trainer, Richard Mandella, has brought her back slowly and she is expected to make her long awaited return Friday at Del Mar.

“She’s doing good,” Mandella says. “She’s ready to race.”

Tamara is the daughter of Beholder, a Hall of Fame inductee and champion in her 2, 3, 5 and 6-year-old seasons. Raced by Spendthrift Farm, she was the popular winner of the Pacific Classic over the boys in 2015 and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in both 2013 and 2016, the latter arguably the most exciting Breeders’ Cup race ever.

So when Tamara debuted with a solid maiden win in August of 2023 followed by an equally impressive 6 3/4-length victory in the Del Mar Debutante (G1), visions of the second coming of her mother were being shared by race fans and pundits alike.

Even Mandella, who also trained Beholder, saw something special in the filly. So much so, he entered her in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita. She set the pace in the race before inexplicably fading to seventh place. A check on her afterwards revealed a fractured splint bone in her left leg.

Tamara was given time off to heal and in April Mandella tested her with a couple of 2-furlong drills. Everything was pointing in the right direction for a return to the races but Mandella, fearing he was moving too fast with her, backed off, keeping her in light training but skipping the Del Mar summer meet and the Santa Anita autumn meet. A spiked fever also contributed to her delayed return.

In recent weeks Mandella has begun to see what he’s looking for in his Bolt D’Oro filly.  

“Just see that they have their old style back,” Mandella states. “The same ability. She seems to have that. A lot of good works so I think we’re ready to go.”

Mandella had hoped to run Tamara in an allowance race Sunday at Del Mar but it failed to fill. So, instead he put another work into her on Friday and she rang-up a bullet in 1:01.2.

Tamara is entered to make her return Friday in an allowance race at Del Mar. One of two sophomores in the race, she drew the rail in a field of six fillies and mares set to go six furlongs on the dirt.