Fev Rover makes pitch for horse of year with E.P. Taylor Stakes victory

Fev Rover put herself in a good position to be named Canada’s horse of the year on Sunday.

The five-year-old mare was all class in the $750,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine. This win — coupled with a win in the Nassau Stakes earlier this year and a win in the Beverly D. Stakes at Colonial in August — makes her the most accomplished horse eligible for a Sovereign Award. That Beverly D. Stakes win also gave her a guaranteed spot in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita and if she is sent to the Los Angeles-area racecourse, she will be among the leading North American contenders.

Ridden by Javier Castellano in the Taylor, Fev Rover went to the front at the start of the 1 1/4-mile turf race on a surface moistened by rain. Around the turn, though, she was passed by longshots Rocky Sky and Skims. But with two furlongs to go, she came back to the lead and was able to get the better of the two race favorites, English invader With the Moonlight and local star Moira, to get the 2 1/2-length win at odds of 4-1.

“My horse ran very well,” Castellano said. “I like the way she did it today.

“When I asked, she had a lot in the tank at the end.”

The Irish-bred Fev Rover now has six wins in 19 starts for trainer Mark Casse.

torontostar.com