The focus of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series will fall on the female turf division Aug. 11 when an expected half dozen fillies and mares line up for the Beverly D. Stakes (G2T) at Colonial Downs.
And perhaps before the race a rendition of “O Canada,” will be in order as the past two Canadian Horses of the Year are entered.
The Beverly D. is one of two Challenge races scheduled this weekend as the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) Aug. 11 at Saratoga Race Course will award a starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T). The Fourstardave is scheduled for 6:16 p.m. ET Sunday while the Beverly D. is slated for 5:50 p.m. ET Sunday on FanDuel TV.
The Beverly D., which offers a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) Nov. 2 at Del Mar, had been scheduled for Saturday but with potential for rain from Tropical Storm Debby, the card, which also includes the Arlington Million Stakes (G1T), was moved to Sunday. Weather may also force the Fourstardave to Sunday afternoon.
While this year’s Beverly D. is the rare top level turf race for females that doesn’t include an entry from trainer Chad Brown, who has dominated the division in recent years, it does promise to provide some insight into the North American pecking order for a Breeders’ Cup race that has been dominated by European-based runners in recent years.
The most recent North American-based horse to win the Filly and Mare Turf is Brown-trained Sistercharlie in 2018 as she nailed down a divisional championship. Sistercharlie prepped for that win with a victory in the 2018 Beverly D., a race she would win again in 2019. That 2018 Filly and Mare Turf score marked Brown’s fourth victory in the race since 2012 and he’s the only North American trainer to send out a winner in the Filly and Mare Turf from 2012-23.
While Brown will not be represented in this year’s Beverly D. field, a pair of runners from last year’s Filly and Mare Turf will start Sunday at Colonial. One of those runners is Canadian classic winner Moira , who last year capped off her 4-year-old season with a third-place finish in the Filly and Mare Turf. At 3 Moira followed her victory over males in the 2022 Queen’s Plate Stakes with a fifth-place finish in the Filly and Mare Turf as she was named Canada’s Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly.
Campaigned by Lanni Bloodstock, Madaket Stables, and SF Racing, and trained by Kevin Attard, Moira enters off a runner-up finish to Whitebeam in the Diana Stakes (G1T) July 13 on the inner turf at Saratoga. That race marked her 5-year-old debut.
Awaiting Moira Sunday will be Tracy Farmer’s Fev Rover , who posted a 3 1/2-length victory in last year’s Beverly D. Trained by Mark Casse, she followed with a clear victory in the E. P. Taylor Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine before finishing 11th in last year’s Filly and Mare Turf. Those efforts would help her to champion female turf horse and Horse of the Year honors in Canada.
The most recent Canadian-trained winner of the Filly and Mare turf is Charles Fipke homebred Perfect Shirl , who posted an upset win for trainer Roger Attfield in the 2011 edition at Churchill Downs.
