Davona Dale Stakes 2017: Odds and Picks

The $200,000 Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes features a field of 14 fillies vying for points toward the 2017 Kentucky Oaks starting gate. Heading up the one-mile race is Pretty City Dancer, who looks to do one better after running second in her seasonal debut.

Our editor, Brian Zipse, likes Eloquent Riddle to pull off a minor upset, while getting first-time Lasix. Post positions and morning line odds from the HRN Stakes Tracker can be seen below.

Pretty City Dancer showed a lot of promise as a two-year-old. After a green performance first out, the daughter of Tapit came back to break her maiden and take the Debutante Stakes before finishing in a dead heat with Sweet Loretta in the Grade 1 Spinaway. Pretty City Dancer returned in the Grade 2 Forward Gal after a five-month layoff to finish second by a half-length to Tequilita. While it was not quite her best performance, it served as a stepping stone to the bigger point races. Pretty City Dancer will be racing in blinkers for the first time in the Davona Dale.

Though Miss Sky Warrior is not a Grade 1 winner like her main competition, she certainly ended her two-year-old season on a high note. The First Samurai filly also broke her maiden at second asking, then went on to win both the Grade 3 Tempted and the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes. To Miss Sky Warrior’s advantage, she has already proven a winner at 1 1/8 miles, while Pretty City Dancer will be making her first start past seven furlongs.

The filly that could step up to the plate is Eloquent Riddle, who was third beaten only two lengths in the Tempted. The daughter of Harlan’s Holiday was last seen finishing second to Yorkiepoo Princess in the Furlough Stakes, who has proved successful in the New York filly prep races. Eloquent Riddle is taking a different route to start her three-year-old season, and is looking to improve on the Florida circuit.

By Christine Oser