It’s a Girl Thing: StarLadies Racing Try Davona Dale

Eskenformoney, owned by all-women partnership StarLadies Racing, makes her first stakes try in Saturday's Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream Park. (Photo by Lauren King/Coglianese Photo)
By Tom Pedulla, America’s Best Racing
Women and fillies only, please.
For those who perceive racing as a male-dominated realm, StarLadies Racing is out to prove otherwise with a fun-filled venture is limited to female partners who purchases only fillies.
Laurie Wolf and Barbara Lucarelli, joint managing partners, refer to StarLadies as racing’s sorority – and it appears they have much to cheer.
Eskenformoney, after going winless in her first five starts, guns for her third consecutive victory when she tests stakes company for the first time in the Grade 2, $200,000 Davona Dale on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
“It’s fun to see the light start going on for her,” said Wolf.
WOLF, SECOND FROM RIGHT, AND LUCARELLI, LEFT, WITH ALGORITHMS

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Trainer Todd Pletcher, who rarely errs in his assessment of his horses, initially thought that the daughter of Eskendereya was destined to have a turf career. She debuted on the grass last July 10, finishing fourth in a six-furlong contest at Belmont Park. She responded to an increase in distance, to a mile-and-a-sixteenth, by placing second at Saratoga Race Course the following month. Consecutive fourth-place finishes followed that.
Pletcher moved her to dirt and a very different filly started to show herself. “She always tried, but she never quite got there,” Wolf said of Eskenformoney’s turf starts. “When he switched her to dirt, there you go.”
Eskenformoney took second at Keeneland in her dirt debut on Oct. 23 before making dramatic strides after she moved to South Florida. She romped by 9 ¾ lengths at Gulfstream Park for her first career victory on Dec. 10, preceding an allowance win here on Jan. 16. Both of those races covered one mile. The Davona Dale, one of eight stakes races on Saturday at Gulfstream, will provide her sternest challenge so far.
“I think we have some level of confidence based on her last allowance win,” Pletcher said. “Certainly it helps that she has a very good foundation at 2 and a lot of experience coming into it, so it should help her with the step up in class.”
Her sire, Eskendereya, appeared to be at the head of the 3-year-old class in 2010 following impressive victories in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) and the Wood Memorial (G1) only to sustain a career-ending injury.
Pletcher also will saddle well-bred Enchantress in pursuit of his fourth Davona Dale win. He sees Eskenformoney following a similar learning curve as Eskendereya.
“Eskendereya himself was one that seemed to get better and better as the summer and fall of his 2-year-old year went along and he found his best in his 3-year-old year,” the trainer said. “This filly acts like she’s kind of developing in the same manner, getting better and better as a 2-year-old and then really stepped up and ran a powerful race in a very competitive allowance race. She certainly deserves this opportunity.”
Eskenformoney looks more impressive to her all-female owners every time they visit her at the barn or root her home. “She has a really good mind to her, she’s maturing, and she is holding her weight, which is very important because these are difficult campaigns,” Wolf said.
If Eskenformoney should be able to defeat a deep and talented field in the Davona Dale or even make a strong showing, it would not be too soon for the “sorority” to begin to think about the Kentucky Oaks, the companion race to the Derby for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs.
“That’s why you are in it, to have your dreams,” Wolf said.