Beverly D. fair odds: Fev Rover offers a single opportunity

It is not that the Grade 1 Beverly D. is the least competitive race in the Colonial Downs turf festival trio of graded stakes, it is just that the other races are so competitive that the opportunity to hang one's chapeau on the best horse in the shortest field is one I am keen to take.

I am speaking of No. 1 Fev Rover in the 1 3/16-mile contest for females 3 and up. It is the middle leg of the late Pick 5 and the all-graded stakes Pick 3.

Unfortunately, this is not a surprise pick. Fev Rover is the shortest morning-line price of any of the graded-stakes races, which is no surprise considering what the Mark Casse trainee has done this year. She won the Nassau Stakes (G2) by 4 1/4 lengths on July 1 at Woodbine then finished third behind a pair of Chad Brown trainees in the Diana Stakes (G1) two weeks later at Saratoga.

It would shock me if a repeat of either of those performances ends up not being good enough to win this race. 

Of course, the rub when it comes to betting is that if the public agrees with me then I'm unlikely to get my fair value of 9-5, but I think leaning on her in the Pick 5 still gives us some opportunity.

If the public goes really crazy on Fev Rover, then maybe that makes Didia playable. But other than that scenario I really can't envision much opportunity elsewhere. Hopefully things go well in the preceding races and we're happy to be singled to Fev Rover.