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 Friday, March 11
RACE 1
ROOTS drops in class after a few disappointing efforts at Oaklawn. She ran a decent race over the track here in December, give her the edge to pick up the maiden win tonight. LUKESLITTLESISTER just missed at first asking and should move forward off of that one. BULLYSLASTEPISODE drops in class in her first start back since September and is a threat.
RACE 2
RUN RIGHT AT IT ships in from the Fairgounds where he’s been running against similar. He picks up Jimenez tonight and could be tough to handle here if he takes to the Polytrack. BIG ROYAL DEAL shows two third place finishes at this same level in his last two starts and is a contender. POISON APPLE ran a decent race coming back from the layoff last time out and figures to improve tonight.
RACE 3
BETWEENHEREANDCOOL has won four in a row over the strip here at Turfway coming into tonight. He figures to be a short price here, but should be able to come away with the win again. RUSHIN’ RUBIETTA was no match for the top pick a few starts back, but he’s run well in each of his two starts since that one and he looks like the main candidate to spring the upset tonight. HERE’S JOHNNY has been third in his last two starts at this same level and is a threat.
RACE 4
LOUISE THE LASER was third at this same level last time out in her first start over the track. She should appreciate the move back to sprinting tonight, give her a slight edge in a wide-open maiden field. MERCER SLOUGH was no match for an impressive winner in her last start, but was clearly second best in that one. A repeat of that effort makes her the one to beat again tonight. ORBITAL FLAG drops in class in her second career start and looks capable of running well here.
RACE 5
RIPINANDATEARIN moves back down in class to the same level he won at three starts back and is the choice for the win against a well-matched field. WHOLE LOTTA RUN shows a win and two third place finishes in his last three starts here at Turfway and would be no surprise here. BLUEMYMIND comes in off a nice win over the track and definitely looks capable of running well again tonight.
RACE 6
LI’L J looked very sharp drawing off to win by nearly eight lengths in his last start. A repeat of that effort would make him tough to handle again tonight despite the move up in class. SONOF A MONSTERCAT also moves up in class after a sharp win over the track and looks like the one to beat. BELIEVE IN KITTEN might prefer to go longer, but won at this level two starts back.
RACE 7
GRATEFUL LIFE ships back to Turfway after two decent efforts as the favorite at the Fairgrounds. He’s won both of his starts over the track here and it looks like he’s in a good spot to pick up the win tonight. HOOCHIE POOCHIE didn’t fire at Mahoning last time out, but was second in two straight at this same level here at Turfway before that one. GITCHA GOOD didn’t show much last time out, but is capable of better.
RACE 8
DAC was over-matched going longer against graded stakes company at Sam Houston in his last start. He looked very sharp winning the Prairie Bayou here at Turfway before that one, give him a slight edge here. AMEN KITTEN has been idle since May when he was beaten as the favorite against state-breds over the Polytrack at Arlington. He showed some strong form against tougher on the grass before that one and Ward figures to have him ready for his return tonight. MYGALSAL comes in off a nice win and is two for two over the track here at Turfway.
RACE 9
FAZZLE DAZZLE showed a great deal of improvement last time out, running second at long odds against a tough field. Any improvement off of that effort could make her tough to handle tonight. TOUCH AND SMILE is a first time starter from Ward’s barn who has been training well over the track here leading up to her debut. SUMMER VISION has been off since June when she didn’t fire on the dirt at Churchill. She ran a nice race on the grass at Indiana before that one and could be dangerous here if she takes to the surface.
RACE 10
DOURO won against similar last time out and is the choice for the win in a wide-open field. BILLY WHITE SHOES was second as the favorite in his first start over the surface and figures to move forward off of that one. YARDBIRD MISFITS ran a nice second last time out and has three wins over the track.