Turfway Park provides daily picks and comments for the Tribune during the live racing meets.
Saturday, Dec. 17
CANDY CHARGER drops to the bottom and should get a good trip from the inside post. Give him the slight edge in the opener. MAIN MAN MIKE is good right now and is definitely the one to beat. ROUS is a contender.
RACE 2
BATTEN THE HATCHES has just three wins in 46 career starts but one of those came over the Turfway strip and he drops to a career low claiming level. FORFEIT also takes the class drop and his best makes him dangerous. FARLEY’S MANDATE has the speed to be on or near the lead with Mojica and is the one to catch.
RACE 3
GATEWAY TO GOLD flashed speed before stopping in her Turfway debut and figures to improve off of that effort. She drops in class and appears to be in a good spot to get her maiden score. MATCHBOOK LILY also takes the drop for Mike Maker and looks like the main competition. DUKE DOC LADY debuts for Steven Lyster who has solid numbers with his first timers.
RACE 4
SECRET TRICK was disqualified from a win at this same level last out. If she can keep a straight course she can win this one with Quinonez picking up the mount. MY EKATI PRINCESS beat the top pick when they hooked up earlier this year and figures to be tough on the class drop. HARD TO PICTURE fits with these.
RACE 5
HE’S A DANDY CANDY moves up a notch in class after winning here last out. He gets the slight edge in a well matched race. CALHOUN will win with anything close to his best performance but he has been idle since February and returns with a new trainer. LANDTANZ is a definite threat.
RACE 6: THE PRAIRIE BAYOU
DAC comes off of a solid fifth place finish in the River City at Churchill. He won this race last year with a similar prep and should be able to make it two in a row with Rodney Prescott picking up the mount. ENTERPRISING looked good winning on the Gulfstream turf and has been firing bullets in the morning since returning to Ky. Mike Maker figures to have him ready to go and he will be tough to beat. WAYWARD KITTEN is a lightly races four year old in the capable hands of Wes Ward. He has also been training well over this track and is a contender in a very good renewal of the Prairie Bayou.
RACE 7
CONTRASTING has been off since May but Tom Drury has excellent numbers with his returning runners. This one looked very good winning back to back races at Turfway and Keeneland and gets the slight nod over DONITAS RULER in a close call. DONITA’S RULER is a class runner who has won ten races and over $300,000. She was dead last in her only race on the poly but if she handles the surface she will be hard to beat. CHERAY rates a chance.
RACE 8
WAR READY has never raced here but has a solid record on the synthetic surfaces and comes off of a good performance in New Orleans. Give him the edge. DOURO likes this track and figures to be the one to beat. CONDESTABLE ran poorly last out as the favorite but is capable of much better.
RACE 9
CLASS READY broke poorly last out and was never in contention. A better start could make him a winner tonight. BILLY WHIT SHOES comes off of an even effort and looks dangerous. Z LUCKY could add some value to the gimmicks.