Beverly D (Grade 1) (BC)- $700.000 Purse
AP- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile and Three Sixteenths on the Turf
August 13, 2016
It can take a lot to take the attention away from SAR or DMR on a Saturday in August, but there is quite a day of racing on tap at AP, and not just the AP Million. The ladies will have their own chance to shine in the 12th running of the Beverly D, a classic Grade 1 event with major ramifications for the BC Fillies and Mares later in the fall. Several have made their mark here, but there is one that won this race two times. Back in 2010 and 2011, trainer Chateau Gill (there’s a name we miss saying in the SRF) celebrated consecutive wins with Madame Harriet. She would win it as a three year old, then come right back a year later and narrowly completed a three-peat in 2012. That year, she was second to Good Lady G from Mb Stables. Mb is the only other trainer besides Chateau Gill to win this race more then once, as he also did so in 2014 with Silent Candy. Last year, it was Rose of Glamorgan becoming just the second three year old to win the race, doing so for Blushing Meadows. G K Gomez is the only jockey with multiple wins, as he saw victory in both 2010 and 2012. We won’t see Broomsticks Copy here, as that BC legend won last week at muddy SAR, but we will see a couple that did run in last year’s BC Fillies and Mares Turf as a part of our nine horse field. Let’s meet the runners!
#1- All Eyes Ahead (Mb Stables, ridden by R J Albarado)- This Well Informed filly has really been on a great run of form this year, winning three of her five races, and never failing to finish outside of the top three. Mb Stables always saw her as one with potential, entering her in the Johnson at SAR last September, but that just did not go to plan, and the trainer then put her on the shelf. Moves like that show an impressive level of patience, and he was rewarded for that this year when he brought her back to the track with a different adds combination. Only in her last start, though, has she fast a top flight field, but she handled it well with a third place showing in the Grade 1 BEL Oaks, beating a couple she sees again here. She can get it done, but there are tough foes here as well.
#2- Laffin In Texas (Sanny Village, ridden by I Ortiz Jr)- This will be only the second start of 2016 for this four year old Laffin Policeman filly. As a three year old, she picked up wins in the Grade 2 Forward Gal Stakes and the FG Oaks. Those results earned her a spot in the KYO last year, and she finished third! After that, the finishes were not to the trainer’s liking, and after running 7th in the Ballerina last August at SAR, she would be kept off the track for quite some time. Finally, after ten months, she made her reappearance, coming in the Grade 1 Phipps, but would be a non factor in the race. This will be her turf debut, but she seems to be training well for it. Don’t rule her out.
#3- Altered Skeleton (Australia Wide, ridden by K J Desormeaux)- A fantastic three year old season saw the Skeleton Key filly pick up two graded stake wins, including the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive at SA in late September. That brought her to the BC Fillies and Mares Turf, and she defeated everyone not named Broomsticks Copy in that race! It seemed like the best would be yet to come for her, but this year started off a little slowly, and she would end up in private sales two times. Ultimately, she would be picked up by Australia Wide in June for $275.000, and a week later she would finally return to the winner’s circle, taking the Grade 1 NY at BEL. Altered Skeleton has been idle since then, and actually does not have any public works for about a month and a half either. Surely, Australia Wide was making her ready to go while on the farm, and we know she can win against this type of field.
#4- Congratulations (Blushing Meadows, ridden by D Moran)- The Copper Bottom filly ran on the turf early in her career, and won both races, so you have to believe she was very happy to go back to the grass in May of this year. She did not disappoint, and would be the runner up in the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes at SA before picking up the biggest win of her career to date, the Grade 1 Gamely, also at SA, topping Broomsticks Copy in the process. That was the first time she ran against older horses, and since three year olds are having so much success right now against older due to weight allowance, it definitely needs to be mentioned that she has the four pound allowance here. However, half the field does as well.
#5- Last Voyager (Canny Lodge, ridden by F Prat)- After a disappointing finish in her last start, the Generals Out There filly will look to get back to the form she was showing earlier this year. That form saw her get a win the Grade 2 Fox at GP, and even when she didn’t win, she had shown a knack for being around the winner at the end of the race. This is a horse that was once claimed for $10.500, and Canny Lodge has done a great job with her. I do think this field might be a little too tough for her, but anything can and will happen.
#6- Eva The Diva (Our Athletes, ridden by J R Leparoux)- Whenever I get assigned a race that has Eva in it, she either wins or finishes second, and it’s not just once or twice that this has happened. Because of this, she has become one of my favorites to cover even if she may not be one the biggest names in the game. She’s a gritty warhorse with a great nose for the wire. In her last race, a race that I did not cover, she proved this ability when she won the Grade 3 Modesty Handicap right here at AP. Sure, there were only three others in that field, but you have to like that it was that this very distance and she proved that it would be no problem. This is a tough field for her to overcome, but I have full confidence in her. And she always, always, always, shows up when I cover one of her races.
#7- Lime Dancer (Drabfantasy, ridden by R Bejarano)- The B N Dancer filly has won two of her twelve career starts, but seems to always be consistent. Her last start, however, gives me some concern. She was heavily bet in a four horse field, but went out to the front, which has not usually been her style, and was passed by everyone. She could have an excuse there, as it was just two weeks after she ran ten furlongs in the BEL Oaks. That was a much better performance where she came from off the pace to finish fourth. Lime Dancer did get a good win in June in the Grade 2 Honeymoon Stakes, as well. I would expect that she will want to run this one like she ran the BEL Oaks, and it’s not a stretch to say things might set up very nicely for her at the end.
#8- Attraction (Mm Racing, ridden by J J Castellano)- After sharing a win in the Grade 1 Diana in her last start, Attraction hooks up again with J J Castellano in an effort to add her name to the prestigious list of past winners that have won this race. That win was the third in her last four starts, and fifth in her last seven, so it is safe to say that all is well with Attraction right now. I haven’t always had the chance to cover her races, so when I watched the Diana last month I was amazed with her never say die effort in the stretch. At the top of the stretch, it seemed as though two were going to get by her, but Castellano kept digging in and Attraction absolutely refused to surrender. Neither would get by her, and only one could simply tie her. We won’t see Lucky You again here, and that’s a shame because I, like many of you, would have loved to see that rematch. Attraction has been to the Beverly D twice before, finishing 3rd and 2nd in the last two editions, so there is only one more spot to improve too. Last year, she was second here after being second in the Diana, so she finished the first part of that win this year, now we’ll see if she can get them both. There’s no reason not to like her here. Possible she can end up a very heavy favorite here, but still she is the one to beat so don’t be too cute trying to beat the favorite at the window.
#9- Mo Ki Missy (Spankys Barn, ridden by D E Centeno)- This is a lightly raced three year old filly, who only recently began to make her mark running against some of the best of her division. Mo Ki Missy is coming off a victory in the Grade 2 Dance Smartly Stakes at WO last month, and before you say it was only a four horse field, make note of the monstrous 101 SRF she earned for the race, as well as the fact that among those she beat was Broomsticks Copy, and the other two, Shekinah and Rip Snortin aren’t pushovers by any stretch of the imagination, either. Most of her recent works have been at DMR, and they are very impressive. Given who she is running against here, it might be hard to put her on top, but if she wins this race, no one should really be surprised, and it would definitely validate her going forward as a superstar.
Prediction: 8-6-3-1
— NS
Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES
