The focus of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series will be on the women’s turf racing division on August 11 when about a half-dozen mares and fillies are expected to line up for the Beverly D. Stakes (G2T) at Downs Colony.
And perhaps before the race, the song “O Canada” will be sung because two Canadian Horses of the Year have been named.
The Beverly D. is one of two Challenge races scheduled this weekend as the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) on August 11 at Saratoga Race Track will be awarded a starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T). Fourstardave is scheduled for 6:16 p.m. ET Sunday while Beverly D. is scheduled for 5:50 p.m. ET Sunday on FanDuel TV.
Beverly D., which offers a paid entry into the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) on November 2 at Del Marwas scheduled for Saturday but with the possibility of rain from Tropical Storm Debby, the card, including the Arlington Million Stakes (G1T), has been moved to Sunday. Weather could also force the Fourstardave to take place on Sunday afternoon.
While this year’s Beverly D. is a rare turf race for mares without trainer Chad Brown, who has dominated the category in recent years, the race promises to provide some insight into North America’s priorities in a Breeders’ Cup race that has been dominated by Europeans in recent years.
The most recent horse of North American origin to win the Filly and Mare Turf was trained by Brown Sister Charlie in 2018 when she won the class championship. Sistercharlie prepared for that victory with a win at the Beverly D. in 2018, a race she would win again in 2019. The 2018 Filly and Mare Turf score marked Brown’s fourth win in the race since 2012, and he is the only North American trainer to produce a winner at the Filly and Mare Turf from 2012-23.
While Brown won’t be represented in this year’s Beverly D. race, a pair of runners from last year’s Filly and Mare Turf will start Sunday at Colonial. One of those runners is the winner of the Canadian Classic. Moira who ended her 4-year-old season last year with a third-place finish in the Filly and Mare Turf. At 3, Moira followed up her win over stallions in the 2022 Queen’s Plate Stakes with a fifth-place finish in the Filly and Mare Turf as she was named Canadian Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Mare.
Run by Lanni Bloodstock, Madaket Stables and SF Racing and trained by Kevin Attard, Moira finished runner-up at the Whitebeam in the Diana Stakes (G1T) July 13 on the inside turf at Saratoga. That race marked her fifth start.
Waiting for Moira Sunday will be Tracy Farmer Fev Self-Driving Car who won by 3 1/2 lengths in last year’s Beverly D. Trained by Mark Casse, she went on to win the EP Taylor Stakes (G1T) at Honeysuckle before finishing 11th in the Filly and Mare Turf last year. Those efforts earned her the title of female racehorse and Canadian Horse of the Year.
The most recent Canadian-trained winner of the Filly and Mare was Charles Fipke, a homebred horse. Shirl perfect who posted a surprise win for trainer Roger Attfield in the 2011 edition at Churchill Downs.
