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, March 12
RACE 1
ANGELIC SCORE comes in off a win and a second place finish in her last two starts at this same level, give her a slight edge against a well-matched field. COPPER’S KEEPER won three in a row here at Turfway before being beaten as the favorite behind the top pick last time out. CHING CHA CHING has finished right behind the top two picks in her last two starts and would be no surprise here.
RACE 2
AMERICAN DOLL has looked very sharp winning each of her last two starts over the track here. A repeat of her last effort would make her tough to beat again tonight. LITTLE CHERIE also comes in off of two wins here at Turfway. She’s bred to be able to handle the added distance and is the one to beat. TIA FLOR comes in off a solid effort against the boys in the WEBN Stakes and definitely looks capable of running well here.
RACE 3
SINCERELY YOURS drops in class after an even effort last time out and is the choice to pick up the maiden win here. ALLEY’O MALLEY also drops in class and could be dangerous here if she takes to the Polytrack. MIZ KNIGHTLY was second at this same level last time out and is a threat.
RACE 4
SKY LANI takes a big drop in class after two disappointing efforts and will be tough to beat here. LIVIN’ A PRAYER didn’t fire last time out, but ran a solid race in her debut and looks like a contender on the drop in class. THIRSTY ran a solid race at this level in her last start and has to be considered.
RACE 5
ENDURING HONOR has been off since July when he broke his maiden impressively at Ellis. He’s been training well for Lopresti since that one, has handled the Polytrack before and is the choice to pick up the win against a short, but well-matched field. ZAMBIAN was second best behind an impressive winner in his last start and is a definite contender again tonight with Jimenez back in the irons. TIZ A DIXIE DANCER drew off to break his maiden by nearly seven lengths in his last start and has the speed to be dangerous again tonight.
RACE 6
The John Battaglia Memorial Stakes.
SURGICAL STRIKE closed well to finish third in the WEBN Stakes last time out in his first start over the track after coming back from a short layoff. He shows a very sharp work over the track since that one and should appreciate the move back around two turns tonight, give him a slight edge in a very well-matched renewal of the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes. WHATAWONDERFLWORLD didn’t fire in the Sam Davis on the dirt at Tampa in his last start, but won against stakes company at Ocala in his three year old debut before that one. He figures to improve on the move back to the Polytrack and could be tough to beat here. SWAGGER JAGGER has been idle since finishing fourth behind Whatawonderflworld at Ocala in his first start since November when he won against stakes company at Gulfstream West. He posted a bullet work over the track recently for Maker and picks up Jimenez for his Turfway debut tonight.
RACE 7
LOOK WHO’S HERE comes in off a nice win against similar in her first start over the track. A repeat of that effort would make her tough to handle again tonight. SWEET EXCURSION was third at this same level in her last start and figures to move forward in her third start back from the layoff. MISS CATWOOD didn’t fire last time out, but is capable of better.
RACE 8
OCTOBER SONG was well beaten as the favorite last time out, but has three wins over the track and should run a better race tonight. DAMASCENE shows a few even efforts in her last few starts and is a threat. BOSSY BABE has a chance.
RACE 9
PEGGY IN MOTION might have needed her last after having been off since November when she didn’t fire in the slop at Churchill. She ran two solid races before those and is the choice to pick up the maiden win here. MISS KNUCKLEHEAD ran third here at Turfway in his debut for Ward back in January and should move forward off of that one. TRULY STRIKING is a well-bred first time starter from Anthony Farrior’s barn who shows some sharp works at Pimlico leading up to tonight.
RACE 10
UNCLE TICKLES comes in off a nice win over the track and looks best against a wide-open field. DUKE OF VISEU drops in class and looks like the one to beat. MASHPEE POND is inconsistent, but ran well at long odds last time out and could add some value to the gimmicks again tonight.