Testy group seeks Breeders’ Cup berth in Beverly D.
Press Release- August 10, 2023
Seven fillies and mares will go to post in the Grade 1, $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs. This year’s 33rd running of the Beverly D. will mark the first time the race has been run in Virginia and the first Grade 1 flat race contested at Colonial Downs. The mile and three-sixteenths test over the outer turf is carded as the ninth race of 11 on Saturday with a first post of 1:30 p.m. EDT. Post time for the Beverly D. is 5:55 p.m.
The Beverly D. is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” race for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf to be held this November at Santa Anita Park and is joined on Saturday’s spectacular card with the Grade 1 Arlington Million for older races and the Grade 2, $500,000 Secretariat Stakes for 3-year-olds. With $2 million on the line in stakes purses alone, Saturday promises to be the richest day of horse racing in Virginia history.
One major player in the Beverly D. figures to be the only runner with a start in New Kent. The Argentine-bred Merribelle Stable’s Didia, the 3-1 second choice, made her U.S. debut over the local lawn, winning an allowance event in July before following that with a score in the $150,000 Old Nelson Stakes, both in New Kent. Since then she was second in the Grade 1 New York Stakes at Belmont Park last time out.
Before that, she added the Grade 3 Modesty at Churchill Downs to her resume. The Modesty served as the local prep for the Beverly D. when both races were run in Chicago. No distaffer has captured both races. Victor Cheminaud has the mount for trainer Ignacio Correas, and the pair will leave the gate from post 5.
Tracy Farmer’s Fev Rover has been made the 2-1 morning line favorite in the Beverly D. and will start from the rail. The 5-year-old Irish-bred made her U.S. debut last month in the Grade 1 Diana at Saratoga, finishing third, beaten just half a length. She was a Group 2 winner in France and has won a pair of graded stakes events at Woodbine including this year’s Grade 2 Nassau Stakes. Javier Castellano rides the daughter of Gutaifan for trainer Mark Casse.
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Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown has won the Beverly D. six times over his career and will send out a pair of Peter Brant-owned runners in search of lucky number seven. Gina Romantica (5-1, post 6) took the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Keeneland last fall to close out her 3-year-old campaign. She made her 4-year-old debut at Monmouth Park last month, finishing fourth in the Eatontown when beaten just a length-and-a-quarter. Brown will also saddle graded stakes winner Rocky Sky (6-1) who will start from the outside post 7. Flavien Prat gets the call aboard the former while Tyler Gaffalione gets a leg up astride the latter.
Eric Jensen’s Jan’s Girls (Antonio Gallardo, post 2, 12-1), Romagna Mia (John Velazquez, post 3, 4-1), and Qatar Racing LLC and Racehorse Club’s Mise En Scene (Jamie Spencer, post 4, 8-1) complete the field.
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