Bret Battaglia sets the morning line at Turfway Park in Florence and provides daily picks and comments for the Trib during the live racing meets.
Picks and comments for Saturday, Jan. 9
RACE 1
SHEZA COZY GAL comes in off a nice win in her first start over the track after having been off since July. Any improvement off of that one should make her a winner here. LA JOLLA D’ORO was over-matched last time out, but drops in class and has two wins over the track. KELLY’S PRIDE ran an even race in her first attempt over the track and is a threat.
RACE 2
SWEAR just held on to get the win as the favorite against similar last time out. He figures to be on or near the lead again tonight and is the choice for the win with Jimenez back in the irons. CROSSHAIRS didn’t show much last time out, but drops to this bottom level for the first time tonight and looks like the one to beat. FROSTBITE FALLS showed some decent form this past year in Chicago and shouldn’t mind the switch in surfaces tonight.
RACE 3
NORTHERN RANGER moves back down in class after an even effort last time out and is the choice for the win in a wide-open maiden field. AS YOU KNOW hasn’t shown much in two starts, but drops in class and looks capable of running well here. KE KEL KARTERBUG moves in for a tag for the first time and would be no surprise here.
RACE 4
MARTHA ROSE drops back down in class after two even efforts here at Turfway. She won’t mind the move back around two turns tonight and it looks like she’s in a good spot to pick up the win here. ON THE CENTERLINE comes in off a nice maiden win over the track and looks like a contender. PINK FREUD LIVE is questionable at this distance, but drops in class and could be dangerous here.
RACE 5
THE DUCK OF REED shows two even efforts in his last two starts over the track and is the choice for the win against a soft field tonight. ARVAK didn’t show much as the favorite last time out, making his first start over the track and coming back from a layoff. He showed some good form at Belterra before that one and figures to show some improvement tonight. MR. LATONIA shouldn’t mind the move back around one turn and has three wins over the track.
RACE 6
CALLANS CANDY moves back up in class after a dull effort on the dirt at Churchill back in November. His best races have come over the turf and he’s been training well over the track here, give him a slight edge in a wide-open maiden field. HARLAN’S HOWLING has been idle since March when he was second at short odds in his debut here at Turfway. He’s been training steadily over the track for Maker since that one and figures to be ready tonight. NELSON’ S EL CAMINO ran a solid fourth in his first start over the track last time out after having been off since June.. He figures to move forward off of that one and definitely looks capable of winning here.
RACE 7
YARDBIRD MISFITS drops in class after an impressive win last time out against a solid field and will be tough to beat tonight. RELENTLESS SPIRIT comes in off a nice win over the track and looks like the main candidate to spring the upset. TOOMANYFORBENNY was second best at this same level last time out and is a contender.
RACE 8
LUNA ARGENTA closed very well, but just missed last time out in her fist attempt over the Polytrack after having been off since September. She figures to be running at the end again tonight and could score here at decent odds. HOLIDAY STROLL has been off since October when she was beaten as the favorite on the grass at Indiana. She’s been training well over the track since that one for Maker and the Ramsey’s and gets Jimenez back aboard her tonight. MARKETPLACE has been idle since breaking her maiden on the grass at Laurel back in October. She also shows some nice works here at Turfway leading up to her return and Davis’s horses have been running very well lately.
RACE 9
STAY DETERMINED comes in off a second place finish at this same level in his first start over the track and rates a slight edge against a well-matched field. CALL ME RED drops in class after a disappointing effort around two turns last time out, but should like the move back to sprinting tonight. TOWER EAST ran an even race last time out coming back from a short layoff and has a win over the track.