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 Thursday, Feb. 4
RACE 1
MI ERMANA TINA ran a decent race last time out coming back from a layoff since May. She figures to move forward off of that one and is the choice for the win here. SPEND AND SPREE showed some improvement in her second start back from the layoff. She has five wins over the track here and looks like a contender. KAABOND was third against similar last time out and would be no surprise here.
RACE 2
FAMOUS JAMEIS moves back down in class to the same level where he was second two starts back. He picks up Jimenez tonight, give him a slight edge to pick up the maiden win here. PHILLIPS BEST DAY has been second in three of his last four starts and looks like the one to beat. CRITICAL SUMMER shows two solid efforts in his last two starts and looks capable of winning here.
RACE 3
ALWAYS LOVE APRIL drops in class after two even efforts in her first two starts over the track. She shouldn’t mind the move back around two turns tonight and should be able to pick up a win here. TUCUPITA is inconsistent, but has beat the top pick in the past. MY REGENCY LADY hasn’t shown much recently, but has to be considered on the drop in class.
RACE 4
PARK WALK drops in class after an even effort in his debut and looks like he’s in a good spot top pick up the maiden win. BANSHA has been off since early December when he was close third at this same level in his first start over the track. REVANCHA ran a decent race in his debut and should move forward tonight.
RACE 5
COTTON EYED JOSIE might need a race, making her first start since April, but she broke her maiden against tougher on the grass at Gulfstream and could be tough here if she’s ready. SARAH’S SASSY CAT didn’t fire as the favorite back in her last start back in December, but is capable of better. NELYN’S FLYER drops in class after a third place finish over the track and picks up Jimenez tonight.
RACE 6
DANCE ELECTRIC drops in class after an even effort in her first try over the Polytrack at Turfway. She showed a little speed in her two previous starts and could be tough to beat here if she makes the lead with Ouzts in the irons. SONATA SQUALL takes a big drop in class and looks like a nice fit at this level. FAST PAY is another one taking a significant drop in class. She didn’t show much in her last start, but Lyster’s horses have been running very well so far this meet.
RACE 7
LUKESLITTLESISTER is a first time starter from Laugherty’s barn who shows some decent works over the track leading up to tonight. D’ANNIE drops down to this bottom level for the first time and is a threat. TURF STAR was fourth last time out in her first start since April and should move forward off of that one.
RACE 8
SEATTLE SASS shows two solid races over the track since coming back from the layoff. She has the speed to be in contention throughout, give her a slight edge against a wide-open field. WILD ABOUT JACK finished second, just ahead of the top pick last time out and looks like the one to beat here. AKASHA was no match for the winner last time out, but was second best in that one. She’s still eligible for non-winners of three, but looks capable of running well in this spot as well.
RACE 9
MY CHERRY PIE has shown some decent form over the track recently and looks best in a wide-open field. PRECIOUS WISH shows two in the money finishes in her last two starts and is a definite contender. HEARTS WILD moves back down in class and has won over the surface in the past.