Beverly D (Grade 1) (BC)- $500.000 Purse
CNL- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and Three Sixteenths on the Turf
August 12, 2023

The great La Terrifiant returns to action this weekend as HRP racing makes a rare trip to CNL for the 19th running of the Grade 1 Beverly D. This race has been more well known for taking place at AP, where it ran from 2005 until 2021. It would find a one year home at CD before the move to CNL for 2023. It is also a “win and you’re in” race for the BC Fillies and Mares Turf which will take place in a few months. At inception, the purse for the race was $750.000, and it stayed there for a while before it ultimately hit a low point of $400.000 in 2021. It bounced back a bit last year to its current level. There will be a field of seven going to post, and whenever La Terrifiant is in a race, she is immediately the headliner, and would be a great name to add to the winners list. Names that are already on it include Halfbaked, Madame Harriet (who won twice), and Mo Ki Missy. Last year, Versailles topped a field of six for D J C Racing Stables, and that seemed to be her last hurrah. She has since been retired, and has produced two foals, only one which is still active. Here’s a look at those running this year!

#1- La Terrifiant (Smokey Stover, ridden by F Boyce)- When we last saw her, she was running in the Grade 1 Diana at SAR, and finishing second, her fourth straight top two finish. Prior to that was a win in the Grade 1 NY. So, we’re not sitting here talking about past accolades deep in the past of this eight-year-old mare. She’s continuing to run at a very high level and should be expected to do so again as she runs at CNL for the first time. La Terrifiant had never run in any of the previous editions of the Beverly D, either.

#2- Catawba (Sccj Stables, ridden by R A Vazquez)- This four-year-old filly by Asset Class is running in her first Grade 1 since she was in the BC Juvenile Turf in 2021. We have seen her be a regular in Grade 3’s and ungraded stakes, but a win in the Grade 3 RGD at DEL last month has the trainer giving her the biggest test of her career. It was a great effort that also had Vazquez aboard and earned her a career high 99 SRF. It’s good to see her getting this opportunity.

#3- Bombing For Peace (Jerry Garcia Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- Well, after being entered in the SAR Oaks and then scratching out of it, Bombing For Peace is now in the position to make me talk about her two weeks in a row. She was our pick to win that race, but that’s not going to happen this time around because she has to run against La Terrifiant. Bombing For Peace will not be terrified of that one, though, and does come off a nice win in the BEL Oaks and should like running this distance. Very capable of knocking off the monster.

#4- Stinky Rene (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by R M Hernandez)- In six races this year, Stinky Rene has failed to hit the board and has earned only $6.00. Yes, she finished off 2022 strong, but she has simply lived up to her name this year. TwinTowersRacing is still a believer, and the hope here will be that the longer distance gives her a jolt. When she did last win, it was at 11 furlongs, but that seems like an eternity ago even if it was just last November.

#5- Demanding Commander (Mb Stables, ridden by E Maldonado)- Picked up Mb Stables in April for $625.000 in private sales after a successful career with Hippyheart. Since then, she has made four starts, with the lone victory coming eight days after she arrived in the new barn, in the Grade 1 Wiley. While she has not won again, she has continued to be productive and ran very well last month in the Grade 1 Diana at SAR. There, she was third and figures to be in the thick of things near the finish here as well.

#6- Tabitha Stephens (Mb Stables, ridden by Ru Silvera)- Starting right next to her stablemate, this filly by Hamilton has finished in the top two in each of her last four races. Three of them were runner up finishes before a trip to MTH three weeks ago saw an impressive wire to wire victory at the Grade 3 Matchmaker. This distance is only slightly longer, so there is no reason to think that the same game plan could not yield the same result on paper even though the competition is far superior in this race. I would lean towards Demanding Commander if picking between the two Mb Stables horses.

#7- Stellar Agent (Night Rider Stables, ridden by J J Castellano)- After a disappointing winter, Stellar Agent came back strong when the weather warmed up by running second in the Grade 3 Orchid, though struggled again Sheepshead Bay. In her last start two months ago, the Grade 3 Eatontown, she was again good and ran second. Would probably be a more appealing option if she was not running against the caliber of opposition she sees here, or if the race was in August 2022 instead of August 2023.

Prediction: 1-3-5-2

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES