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.
RACE 1
MARTHA ROSE drops in class and shouldn’t mind the move back around two turns. Give her the edge against a soft field today. SPECIAL DIAMOND has been in the money in three of her last four and is a contender. BUMBLE BIZZ comes in off a maiden win in her first attempt over the track and has to be considered.
RACE 2
CHARIOT CHAR ships back to Turfway after winning another at Mahoning in her last start. She ran a solid race at this level before that one in her only start over the track and is the choice to pick up the win here. GINGER STONE makes her first start since September and could be dangerous today if she’s ready. ACTING FRENCH showed some improvement last time out and has two wins over the track.
RACE 3
MISS NEGRITA has been running against tougher and could score here on the drop in class. PURE LEGACY won at this level two starts back and looks like the one to beat. LIMERICK LADY has six wins here at Turfway and definitely looks capable of running well here despite the move back up in class.
RACE 4
SPICE OF LIFE shows some even efforts against similar recently and is the choice for the win here. FAITH AND A PRAYER has been beaten as the favorite in two of her last three, but is capable of better. RUNAWAY LIZ just missed two starts back and would be no surprise here.
RACE 5
SARAH’S SASSY CAT shows a win and a second in her last two starts since coming back from the layoff. Give her a slight edge in a wide-open field. GIVEMHAYLEGAYLE has also shown some good form over the track recently and looks like the one to beat. CASH DANCE has been in the money in eight of her thirteen career starts and is a threat.
RACE 6
GRAND KENDRA ran a nice second against tougher earlier this year and will be tough to beat here on the drop in class. YELLOW TADPOLE ran a close second against similar last time out and has the speed to be dangerous today. BAYOU ROYALTY broke her maiden on the move back down in class last time out.
RACE 7
WROUGHT looked sharp drawing off to break his maiden by six in his last start. A repeat of that effort could make him tough to beat again today. ITSWINEOCLOCK has been second in three of his last five starts and looks like the one to beat again today. J.M.’S PARADE finally scored his maiden win last time out and definitely looks capable of running well again today.