Arlington: Playing exotics in the Beverly D. Stakes Aug 14

Seven fillies and mares will travel 1 3/16 miles on the Arlington turf in Saturday’s $400,000 Beverly D. S. (G1). I think that the race will come down to the pair of morning-line choices, but there is still money to be made in the vertical exotics if we can tab the third and fourth-place finishers.

I have long liked Graham Motion’s #2 Mean Mary (9-5) and consider her my top selection. The dark bay daughter of Scat Daddy has been patiently handled to this stage of her career with just 11 starts to date, with seven victories among those. She is a dynamic turf performer with big gate speed combined with staying power, and this trip might be ideal for her. Mean Mary is two-for-two this season without running her best as of yet, and she could be poised for a top showing on Saturday with Luis Saez in the silks.

#4 Santa Barbara (2-1) was victorious in her U. S. debut when closing late to take the Belmont Oaks (G1) in stylish fashion. The Aidan O’Brien trainee was tons the best in that race despite the small winning margin, and her best races are likely ahead of her. By Camelot, the sophomore lass faces a tall task in facing her elders for the first time, but her talent might be enough to overcome her relative inexperience against this cast. I believe she will be in the first two.

Chad Brown’s #6 Lemista (5-1) is the selection to finish third coming off a poor showing in the Diana S. (G1) at Saratoga last time out. The dark bay Raven’s Pass filly was a sharp runner-up in the Beaugay S. (G3) in her U. S. bow two prior, and the Irish Group 2 winner should take a big step forward while making her first run at Arlington with Prat in the silks.

#3 Joy Epifora (8-1) doesn’t seem likely to win the race, but I do feel that the distance is in her favor. The chestnut five-year-old by Fortify has a hint of class to her, and her Modesty S. (G3) second last time out was a good prep for this race for trainer Ignacio Correas.

Beverly D. Wagers

• $20 trifecta 2 with 4 with 6 ($20)
• $10 trifecta 4 with 2 with 6 ($10)
• $5 superfecta 2,4 with 2,4 with 6 with 3 ($10)
• $2 superfecta 2,4 with 2,4 with 3 with 6 ($4)