Fev Rover (IRE)

Fev Rover, an Irish-bred Gutaifan filly, made her first 11 starts in Europe and won twice, a maiden race at Sandown Park in England and the 2020 Group 2 Shadwell Prix du Calvados at Deauville in France. She also finished second in two Group 2 stakes and third in the Group 1 English One Thousand Guineas.

She was relocated to Canada in 2022 and joined Mark Casse’s stable at Woodbine and was immediately tested against Grade 2 company in the July 24 Dance Smartly Stakes. Fev Rover set a pressured early pace and fought in the stretch while having to steady, and settled for second behind Wakanaka.

Casse brought Fev Rover back in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes Presented by Japan Racing Association on the Aug. 21 Queen’s Plate undercard. The filly made a good middle move in the turn to take the lead under Patrick Husbands and then was all out in deep stretch to hold off Grade 2 winner Crystal Cliffs to post a game nose victory. She finished her 2022 season with a respectable third-place finish in the Grade 1  E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine on Oct. 8.

Following an eight-month layoff, Fev Rover made her 2023 debut in the Grade 2 $175,000 Nassau Stakes at Woodbine on July 1. Facing a field of nine fillies and mares going one mile on a yielding turf course, Fev Rover made a last-to-first move to blow by the field en route to a big 4 1/4-length score. 

Fev Rover left her summer base at Woodbine for her next start, which came in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga on July 15, and ran a close third, beaten a total of a half a length in a field that included the winner Whitebeam and runner-up In Italian.

Fev Rover tried another Grade 1 spot again in her next outing, and this time was successful in the $500,000 Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes, which was held on Aug. 12 at Colonial Downs for the first time (it had been a long-time feature at Arlington). Sent off as the 3-5 favorite on the tote board in a five-horse field in the Beverly D., Fev Rover took command on the lead immediately and was able to go wire-to-wire for a 3 1/2-length score, running the 1 3/16-mile distance in a winning time of 1:54.35 over firm turf. The Beverly D. was a Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series race, and with her victory, Fev Rover earned a guaranteed berth into the 2023 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. 

After a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Canadian Stakes Presented by the Japan Racing Association Sept. 9 at Woodbine, Fev Rover set the pace in the $750,000 E. P. Taylor Stakes on Oct. 8 and had plenty of petrol in reserve in deep stretch while surging clear to win by 2 ¼ lengths.