Fev Rover (IRE) and Moira rivalry continues in highly competitive E.P. Taylor Stakes

TORONTO, September 12, 2024 – Fev Rover (IRE) and Moira, Canada’s last two Horses of the Year, will renew their rivalry Saturday at Woodbine in a highly competitive renewal of the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes.

The $750,000 E.P. Taylor is run over 1 ¼ miles on Woodbine’s eponymous turf course and the field of six includes the invading Group 1 winners Blue Rose Cen (IRE) and Cinderella’s Dream (GB).

Fev Rover is the defending champion In the Taylor and was placed third in the 2022 running (Moira ended second but was disqualified and placed eighth). This year’s Taylor follows their stirring stretch duel which saw Moira narrowly prevail in the Beverley D. to even their personal scoreboard at three apiece.

Unplaced in last fall’s 1 ¼ -mile Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) following her Taylor success, Fev Rover returned to action with a respectable sixth-place finish in Saratoga’s 1 3/16-mile New York (G1T) and then ended the runner-up in Woodbine’s one-mile Nassau (G2, T) as the odds-on choice.

Fev Rover, owned by Tracy Farmer, was more like her old self last time, making the running in the 1 3/16-mile Beverly D. on the Virginia turf before succumbing by a head to Moira.

“I’m expecting a big effort,” said trainer Mark Casse, who believes his mare can display further improvement. “Her last start was better than her start before, which was better than the one before that.”

Fev Rover, a 6-year-old Irish-bred, had notched her first Grade 1 in last year’s 1 3/16-mile Beverly D, which was run as a Grade 2 this season.

Moira, a 5-year-old owned by X-Men Racing LLC, Madaket Stables LLC and SF Racing LLC, was making just her second start of the season in the Beverly D., a “Win and You’re In” race for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf over 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar on November 2.

The Ontario-bred had run a strong second in Saratoga’s 1 1/8 Diana (G1T), beaten just three-quarters of a length in her first outing since a close third-place finish in last fall’s BC F&M Turf.

“Her race at Saratoga was a very good performance,” said Attard. “There wasn’t much speed. She chased, and closed well, coming off a long layoff, and followed up in the Beverly D., again a little bit of a paceless race.”

Attard had opted for the Beverley D. after being entered in the same weekend’s Canadian due to its “Win and You’re In” status and now will seek her first Grade 1 score in the E.P. Taylor.

“The E.P. Taylor has always been on her calendar,” said Attard. “It’s a bit earlier this year, which gives her more time to the Breeders’ Cup. That’s her ultimate goal, and you kind of work backwards from that.”

Blue Rose Cen, a 4-year-old owned by Yeguada Centurion, became a Group 1 winner in the Prix Marcel Boussac in her final start at 2 and followed up with victories at that lofty level in the French 1000 Guineas, Price de Diane and Prix de l’Opera last season.

This year, in the hands of new trainer Maurizio Guarnieri, the Irish-bred has failed to finish in the top three in four outings but is coming off a fourth-place finish, beaten just three-quarters of a length, in the August 18 Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet over about 1 ¼ miles of good-to-soft going at Deauville.

“On that occasion, I saw again, the female that had run very well at her comeback in Group 1 against the males in Paris, the Ispahan,” said Guarnieri, who had watched Blue Rose Cen finish a close fifth in the Prix d’Ispahan over 1 1/8 miles of soft turf at Longchamp on May 26.

That was her first start for Guarnieri, and she followed with off-the-board finishes at Ascot and Deauville.

“The filly has had a wonderful but very hard career at 2 and 3 years. At 4 she needed the spring to find her best again.”

Cinderella’s Dream, a 3-year-old Godolphin homebred, is trained by Charlie Appleby, whose only previous E.P. Taylor starter was runner-up With the Moonlight last year.

After winning her two starts as a juvenile, Cinderella’s Dream extended her streak to four this winter capped by an impressive double in Dubai.

“We were impressed with how she did as a physical in Dubai and she won the Jumeirah 1000 Guineas by 5 ½ lengths despite her saddle slipping and her jockey losing his irons,” said Appleby.

Following her only defeat to date, which came in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 5, Cinderella’s Dream relocated to Saratoga this summer.

After becoming a Grade 1 winner in the Belmont Oaks Invitational (run at Aqueduct) at 1 3/16 miles on grass, Cinderella’s Dream repeated over the same distance in the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G2T).

“Her first Grade 1 win in the Belmont Oaks was impressive as it was a quality field and she broke the track record,” said Appleby. “She showed how well she had taken her travels over the winter having raced in Dubai and the UK prior.

Cinderella’s Dream now will face older rivals for the first time in what is her longest race to date.

“She is a straightforward filly and relaxes well in her races,” said Appleby. “We have been very happy with her preparation, and she comes here with confidence having won her last two starts.”

Blush, also invading from France, and Full Count Felicia, based here at Woodbine, both have the potential to spring the upset.

Bred in Ireland but trained in France, Blush is perfect in three starts this year after finishing a close sixth in her debut last fall. Trained by Carlos Laffon-Parias, Blush’s last two wins have come at the Group 3 level. She also will be facing older rivals for the first time.

Full Count Felicia, owned by Gold Square LLC, finished fourth when making her first start for trainer Kevin Attard here in the Nassau but then was a dominant front-running winner of the 1 1/8 mile Canadian (G2T) in her subsequent start.

“She had been training super going into that race,” said Attard. ‘She tends to show speed but she’s versatile – she can run on the lead or off the pace.”

Field for the E.P. Taylor Stakes

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Blush (IRE) – Oisin Murphy – Carlos Laffon-Parias

2 – Moira – Rafael Hernandez – Kevin Attard

3 – Fev Rover (IRE) – John Velazquez – Mark Casse

4 – Full Count Felicia – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

5 – Blue Rose Cen (IRE) – Umberto Rispoli – Maurizio Guarnieri

6 – Cinderella’s Dream (GB) – William Buick – Charles Appleby

Bill Tallon, for Woodbine Communications