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, Feb. 6
RACE 1
SECRET DIARY didn’t fire on the dirt at Gulfstream last time out, but showed some decent form on the grass before that one and shouldn’t mind the switch in surfaces tonight. Give her a slight edge here. GYPSY ANGEL ROW moves up in class after being claimed in her last start when she drew off to break her maiden by six. WICKED VICKY drops in for a tag for the first time tonight.
RACE 2
WHATTHECATDRUGIN hasn’t shown much in his last two starts over the track. He drops in class tonight and looks like he’s in a good spot to pick up the win here. I’M STAR STRUCK drops in class in his first start back since September. He shows some nice works over the track leading up to his return and could be dangerous here. STRONG RESOLVE has a chance.
RACE 3
LOOKING FOR A DATE has been off since mid December when he disappointed on the dirt at Hawthorne. He’s done his best racing over the turf and synthetics and should move forward on the move back to the Polytrack. AFTERMARKETSPOILER didn’t show much on the dirt at Gulfstream in his last start, but drops in class and could be tough to beat here if he takes to the Polytrack. MISS CATWOOD has been in the money in three of his last four starts and is a threat.
RACE 4
GRAND COULEE ran a nice third last time out in his first start since June. He should move forward off of that one, give him a slight edge here. DRIFTING WIND has been beaten as the favorite in each of his last two starts over the track and looks like the one to beat again tonight. STROKE has outrun his odds in each of his last two starts and looks capable of running well here.
RACE 5
CITIZEN JOHN was second best behind an impressive winner last time out and looks best here. ARTIC SKY is inconsistent, but has run well against tougher and will be tough to beat tonight with Jimenez back in the irons. WHOLE LOTTA RUN showed improvement on the move around two turns last time out and has the speed to be dangerous tonight.
RACE 6
DELANTERA shows two strong efforts against two tough starter allowance fields in her last two starts over the track and is the choice for the win here. SHE’S MESSI was over-matched against allowance company last time out, but looked very sharp drawing off to win by nine before that one. A return to that form would make her tough again tonight. ALYCZARA has shown some good form at Hawthorne recently and has a win over the Polytrack at Arlington.
RACE 7
ITSWINEOCLOCK moves back down in class after finishing second last time out. He gets in light again tonight with Gallardo, give him the edge here. ARMY RANGER showed some improvement last time out in his second start back from the layoff and looks like a contender. BOLD VISIONARY exits the same race as the top pick and has to be considered.
RACE 8
THUMP comes in off of two solid efforts going long here at Turfway and is the choice for the win against a soft field. ALTA RITA showed some improvement in her second career start and looks capable of running well here. WILLBURNHOT ran a decent race at long odds in her debut and figures to move forward off of that one.
RACE 9
FANCY HAT ran a game second here at Turfway last time out despite having been off since July. She figures to move forward off of that one and has won over the track in the past, give her a slight edge here. STREE SPIN MISS makes her first start since moving to Makers barn after having been idle since October. She’s been training steadily over the track since that one and could be tough to beat here if she’s ready. SOMMERVILLE MISS moves up in class after drawing off to win by eleven last time out.
RACE 10
RELENTLESS SPIRIT was second best against similar last time out and looks best tonight. ADAMOR comes in off a nice win over the track and is a contender. DOLLAR DOBLADO has been beaten as the favorite in his last two at Hawthorne, but didn’t run poorly in either of those and could be dangerous if he takes to the surface here at Turfway.