Battaglia’s Saturday picks for Turfway Park


Turfway Park provides daily selections and comments for the Tribune during the live racing meets.

Saturday, Jan.07 – Picks brought to you by Mike Battaglia

turfway-logoRACE 1
EVERYWHERUWANTTOBE ran well to finish second in her Turfway debut and looks best for Eric Reed with Jack Gilligan picking up the mount. GYPSY TRICK had a rough trip in her debut at Gulfstream and is capable of improvement. BELOVED BETTY has been training steadily for her first start and is a contender.

RACE 2
PURE LEGACY rates a slight edge in here with Jimenez picking up the mount for Susan Anderson. IMAGE OF GRACE comes off of a game win and beat the top pick when they hooked up last month. VHAAR SHE GOES has the speed to be dangerous.

RACE 3
BRAD’S WAGER should be on or near the lead and could be tough to catch in a race with no real front runners. MR. SENSIBILITY will win with anything close to his best but he has been off since October with no published works. CONNECT A PEG woke up last out and is a definite threat.

RACE 4
WHAT’S IN A NAME gets the nod in a weak bottom claimer. I’M IN FASHION figures to get a good trip from the inside post and will be tough with Ouzts aboard. PICKIN PICKETS fits with these.

turfway-parkRACE 5
HARANGUE ran well to finish third in his debut at Churchill and hooked a tough field in his race here at Turfway. He gets Lasix for the first time and rates the slight edge over DURANGO DAN in a close call. DURANGO DAN was beaten as the odds on favorite last out but ran gamely in that one and is definitely the one to beat. ENHANCED EDITION was overmatched last out but fits in here.

RACE 6: THE WINTERGREEN STAKES
SUSIE BEE is one of two in here trained by Mike Maker. She has been running against better competition on the turf and posted a solid work here on December 21st. She figures to be running at the end in a race loaded with early speed and rates the edge with Jimenez aboard. TOUCH AND SMILE has never been around two turns but is bred to like the added distance. She is capable of rating just off of the early leaders and figures to be tough off of her third place finish in the Holiday Inaugural. MINER’S CAT comes off of a career best performance at Churchill and could add value to the gimmicks in a well matched renewal of the Wintergreen.

RACE 7
STRUMMING came up short in her first try after a five month layoff. She should improve off of that effort and can be expected to run much better tonight. DONNA’S HOLIDAY has the speed to be on or near the lead and is the one to catch. MY CALENDER GIRL is a contender.

RACE 8
HIPPOLYTE was no match for a couple of runaway winners in her last two but seems to have caught a softer bunch today. Give her the edge. PORRIDGE drops in class after showing speed against better at Gulfstream but has been off since July and may need the race. G CODE debuts for Bill Cowans, who is good with first timers.

RACE 9
SHUTTER SHOCK was unprepared for the start and lost her rider in a race that was declared a no contest here on New Years Eve. She faced better in Florida and looks best in this one. CAPE FLATTERY exits that same race and is the one to beat tonight. WARRIOR PRINCE drops to the bottom and is a contender.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *