Hopefaithjoy Joins Stakes Company in Rags to Riches

StarLadies Racing will seek its first stakes win Sunday in the $58,000-added Rags to Riches at Churchill Downs with Hopefaithjoy for trainer Todd Pletcher.

 

The one-mile Rags to Riches is one of two stakes races on Sunday’s 10-race “Stars of Tomorrow I” program that showcases nothing but 2-year-olds to open the track’s 26-day Fall Meet.

 

StarLadies Racing is a division of the successful Louisville-based partnership Starlight Racing, which has campaigned 42 graded stakes winners since its inception in 2000, including Hall of Fame-inductee Ashado, Juvenile Champion Shanghai Bobby and multiple Grade I winner Harlan’s Holiday.

 

Starlight’s Chief Operating Officer Donna Barton Brothers elaborated on the StarLadies partnership, which was launched in 2013.

 

“StarLadies was born from Laurie Wolf and Barbara Lucarelli really just wanting to have an all-female partnership,” Brothers said. “Of course Barbara and her husband Donald (Lucarelli) are co-managing partners in Starlight Racing and Laurie and her husband Jack (Wolf) founded Starlight; but Laurie and Barbara had a couple of horses with some girlfriends in the past, and they just wanted something exclusive to female-only partners and they only run fillies and mares.”

 

Brothers expressed a slight concern with Hopefaithjoy, the 5-2 morning line favorite, going back to a one-turn mile after winning her maiden at two turns going 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland, but overall thought the 2-year-old daughter of Lookin At Lucky should fare well Sunday.

 

“I watched her win at Keeneland and she looked really good,” Brothers said. “She’s doing well. There’s a little concern in shortening her to a one-turn mile after she won going two turns but she’s definitely earned a chance to compete at a higher level. So hopefully she’ll be able to handle the turn back in distance.”

 

Hopefaithjoy will break from the far outside in post position 11 with jockey Rosie Napravnik in the saddle. Post time for the Rags to Riches is set for approximately 4:44 p.m. ET.

 

The first of 10 races on Sunday’s opening day card is 12:40 p.m. ET. Grandstand gates open at 11:30 a.m. ET.

 

Source: Churchill Downs Barn Notes