No mare has captured the $600,000 Beverly D. (G1) at Arlington more than once, but reigning divisional champion Sistercharlie appears poised to make history on Saturday in the 1 3/16-mile turf event.
Not only would a victory by Sistercharlie put her in the record books, but it would also give trainer Chad Brown a fifth consecutive win in the fixture.
Sistercharlie won the Beverly D. by a half-length last summer, then was freshened for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) at Churchill Downs, in which she rallied late to catch Wild Illusion by a neck.
Voted an Eclipse Award for her four-for-five campaign, Sistercharlie was in no rush to get back to work this season, but was ready when asked in last month’s Diana (G1), which she won for the second year in a row, this time over stablemates Rushing Fall and Homerique.
Brown sends out two others, including 2018 American Oaks (G1) winner Competitionofideas. The Speightstown filly has been unlucky so far this term, finishing a close second in the Beaugay (G3), New York (G2), and Matchmaker (G3). The other is Thais, unplaced three times since finishing third in the 2018 Beverly D. at odds of 66-1.
Team Coolmore has two serious players in Fleeting and Magic Wand, though the latter is cross-entered in the Arlington Million (G1). Fleeting, a three-year-old, arguably has the most upside. The Group 2 winner was third in the Epsom Oaks (G1) three back, then had two bang-up seconds to the talented Star Catcher in the Ribblesdale (G2) and Irish Oaks (G1).
Magic Wand has various Group 1 placings worldwide, and is undoubtedly better than her run in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) suggests. She ran fourth to Sistercharlie in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup in their only prior meeting.
The field is rounded out by longshots Remember Daisy, Oh So Terrible, and European invader Awesometank.
The Beverly D. is a Breeders’ Cup “Win & You’re In” Challenge prep for the Filly & Mare Turf.
