Beverly D. Could Deliver Big Week for Moore Homebreds

Racing at Churchill Downs this weekend could produce an extraordinarily exciting week for owner/breeders Susan and John Moore. The couple is already celebrating the maiden win of their homebred Catnip  and now will see if his half sister Princess Grace  can capture her first grade 1 in the Aug. 13  $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes (G1T), moved this season to Churchill Downs after the shuttering of Arlington International Racecourse.

Trained by Mike Stidham, Princess Grace is a daughter of Karakontie   out of the Moore's stakes-placed broodmare Masquerade , who they raced. Stidham campaigned Masquerade for four of her six lifetime victories and jockey Florent Geroux, who will ride Princess Grace in the Beverly D., piloted the Silent Name   mare for two wins. Catnip, a 3-year-old son of Kitten's Joy  , won his second career start Aug. 9 at Colonial Downs where he captured a 1 1/8-mile turf maiden race by a length. Stidham also trains Catnip.

Princess Grace, a seven-time winner from 11 starts, won the last two runnings of the Dr. James Penny Memorial Stakes (G3T) at Parx Racing. Geroux was aboard Princess Grace for her win in the 1 1/16-mile turf event four weeks ago.

"You can tell she's really matured over the winter and the Stidhams have done a good job getting her back to the races," Geroux said after her three-length win. "She gets very comfortable on the front end when she's able to make the lead, but she's pretty versatile and can come from off the pace, too."

Geroux has been in the saddle for three of Princess Grace's victories. He previously rode the 5-year-old mare to a win in last year's Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf (G2T) and the Mrs. Revere (G2) at Churchill Downs in 2020.

The 36-year-old Geroux has had previous success in the Beverly D., having piloted Sea Calisi  to a win in 2015 for trainer Chad Brown and owner Martin Schwartz.

The one trend not working in Princess Grace's favor in the Beverly D. is that she was bred in Kentucky. In 19 of the last 20 runnings of the 1 1/8-mile stakes, the winner was bred overseas: Ireland (6), France (5), Great Britain (4), Germany (2), Chile (1), and South Africa (1). The internationally-bred horses in this year's Beverly D. are Bal Mar Equine's Dalika ; Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg's Lily Pond ; and Peter Brant and Tabor's Rougir .

Rougir, a 4-year-old daughter of Territories , is the 2-1 morning-line favorite. She won the Prix de l'Opera Longines (G1) last year and won the Beaugay Stakes (G3T) May 14 at Belmont Park but was unplaced in two grade 1 starts since the Beaugay. She is trained by Brown and will be ridden by Manny Franco.

Lily Pond is a slight second choice at 5-2 and comes into the race off a win in the Kilboy Estate Stakes (G2) at the Curragh. Trained by Aidan O'Brien, the 3-year-old daughter of Galileo  will be making her U.S. debut with rider John Velazquez. She has the lowest weight assignment at 120 pounds.

The Beverly D. is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. The winning horse will get an automatic berth into the $2 million Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), which will be run Nov. 5 at Keeneland.