Sistercharlie looks unstoppable in 2019 Beverly D. Stakes

The prestigious $600,000 Beverly D. Stakes (G1) at Arlington Park has been contested 29 times, and while it might be hard to believe, no filly or mare has ever won the race more than once.

But that will almost certainly change Saturday, when defending Beverly D. champion #7 Sistercharlie will seek another victory in the 1 3/16-mile turf test. While there are no sure things in racing, many handicappers will conclude the only way to stop Sistercharlie from winning another Beverly D. is to cancel the race.

Trained by Chad Brown, who has won the last four editions of the Beverly D., Sistercharlie is by far the most accomplished mare in the field. The champion grass mare of 2018, she has won five grade 1 races during her career, including the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1). None of her expected seven Beverly D. rivals have prevailed even once in a top-level race.

Sistercharlie kicked off her 2019 campaign with a powerful victory in the 1 1/8-mile Diana Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, arguably her most impressive performance to date. Reserved ten lengths behind a fast pace, she unleashed a terrific rally down the homestretch to defeat her high-class stablemates Rushing Fall and Homerique by 1 3/4 lengths.

The fast pace in the Diana was set by #8 Thais, Sistercharlie’s stablemate who finished third in the 2018 Beverly D. A speedy 5-year-old, Thais was sacrificed as a pacemaker in the Diana and figures to play a similar role Saturday to set up her illustrious stablemate for another stellar performance.

Can anyone challenge Sistercharlie for supremacy? Aidan O’Brien is sending two classy fillies from Ireland, #1 Fleeting and #6 Magic Wand, but the former has done her best running over 1 1/2 miles (where she's placed in both the Epsom Oaks and Irish Oaks), while the latter hasn’t won since June of 2018 and is cross-entered in the Arlington Million (G1) later on the Arlington card.

Sistercharlie’s stiffest test might come from her second Brown-trained stablemate #3 Competitionofideas, the decisive winner of the 2018 American Oaks (G1). The 1 3/16-mile distance of the Beverly D. should be perfect for Competitionofideas, but she has finished second in all three of her starts this year, including a couple of defeats against Homerique in graded company. Considering how thoroughly Sistercharlie trounced Homerique in the Diana, it seems evident Competitionofideas might be a cut below the champion.

Let’s key Sistercharlie on top of a trifecta with Fleeting, Magic Wand and Competitionofideas underneath. Should Magic Wand withdraw, we’ll happily narrow our ticket to include just Fleeting and Competitionofideas.

$8 trifecta: 7 with 3 with 1,6 ($16) $7 trifecta: 7 with 1,6 with 3 ($14)

Good luck!