The Grade 2, $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes will bring together a small but solid cast Saturday at Colonial Downs, with contenders ranging from proven Grade 1 winners to emerging turf talents.

The 1 3/16-mile test for fillies and mares supports the Grade 1 Arlington Million and is carded as the 10^th race, just before the Million and just after the Grade 2 Secretariat.

Leading the field is Be Your Best, the 9-5 morning-line favorite for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. The Irish-bred millionaire has won four graded stakes in her last five starts, including a decisive victory in the Grade 1 Gamely at Santa Anita in May. With Tyler Gaffalione aboard, she brings tactical speed and the kind of consistent finishing kick that has made her one of the top turf mares in the country.

Just missing Grade 1 glory last out, Beach Bomb will look to register her third US graded stakes win. A Group 1 winner in her native South Africa, she was beaten only a half-length in the Grade 1 New York at Saratoga after leading in the stretch. The Graham Motion trainee has been in strong form since arriving in the U.S. and gets Luis Saez in the saddle.

Duvet Day, trained by Michael McCarthy, makes her third start of the season after closing strongly for second in Churchill Downs’ Anchorage Stakes. The Irish-bred ended 2024 with her first graded score in the Grade 3 Cardinal and appears to be thriving.

“She seems to be in the best form of her career, numbers-wise,” McCarthy said. “It’s a big ask to run in a prestigious race like (the Beverly D.), but it’s always nice to be able to participate in those kinds of races.”

Also in the mix is Charlene’s Dream, a front-end factor who earned her signature win in the Grade 3 Galorette at Pimlico in May and has been in the money in seven of 10 starts. She led with a furlong to go in the Anchorage before finishing just a length behind Duvet Day.

German import Spanish Eyes may be rounding into her best stateside form after rallying for a narrow second in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park. Chick’s Shadow faces a class test but boasts a remarkable record at Colonial Downs, with first- or second-place finishes in all four of her starts at the New Kent track.

The Beverly D. clearly runs through Be Your Best, but several others could well have something to say about the outcome Saturday at Colonial Downs.

BEVERLY D. ENTRIES