Turfway Park’s Mike Battaglia provides daily selections and comments for the Tribune during the live racing meets.
*Note: First race post time is now 5:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday until further notice.
Battaglia selections for Friday, Jan. 26
RACE 1
SUNDAY CLOTHES showed nothing after breaking poorly in his debut at Churchill but has trained well for Mike Maker since then. He figures to improve and gets the nod with Lebron up. ACCUSING was well backed in his Turfway debut and Colebrook drops him in for a tag tonight. He is the one to beat. KINGDOM’S GATE is also trained by Maker and has to be respected.
RACE 2
VIA FRATTINA ran well in her first start on the Turfway poly. She has the speed to be on or near the lead throughout and rates the slight edge in here. BRILLIANT KITTEN drops back down in class after an even effort against better. She is definitely the one to beat. SUMMERTIME GAL is a solid contender.
RACE 3
MORE MOOLA debuts for Wes Ward and appears to have caught a soft field. Her works aren’t flashy but she has been training steadily and rates the edge with Franklin aboard. CANDY LOU showed nothing at Keeneland back in October but has flashed speed in most of her races and looks like the one to catch. ART MAJOR is a contender.
RACE 4
NYOMAN is riding a four race win streak and has finished first or second in 10 of his last 12. He will be rallying from off of what figures to be a very fast pace and rates the slight edge in a well matched starter allowance race. TIZ SARDONIC JOE is a nine year old veteran who has been off since October but is in the capable hands of Kim Hammond. He likes this track and is another one who will be running late. GORGEOUS GEORGE fits with these.
RACE 5
NO BARNEYS just missed last out and a repeat of that one would make him a winner in here. BLUEGRASS BEAT drops back to the bottom and is the one to beat. EPHRAM S. is capable of a solid performance.
SOLITAIRE KITTEN debuts for Mike Maker off of a series of solid works. Give her the edge with Lebron aboard. SILVER EXCESS ran well in her debut and drops back in for a tag tonight. She will be tough to beat. URAWESOMEBLOSSOM fits in here.
RACE 7
BIRD STREET comes off of back to back wins for Troy Newton. She has the speed to be on or near the lead and is capable of extending her streak with Outzs picking up the mount. POP SINGER was overmatched last out but won at this claiming level two starts back and looks like the main competition. COWGIRL TYNE will be running at the end.
RACE 8
LADY TO THE MAX had a wide trip in her debut but rallied well to finish second in that one. She figures to move forward and appears to be in a good spot to get her maiden score. FINAL REWARD finished right behind the top pick last out and looks like the one to beat again tonight. SUN KITTY is a firster from the Ward barn who has to be respected.
RACE 9
ZODACIOUS is one of two in here trained by Wesley Ward. She has been off since August but ran against much better last year and figures to be able to win as she drops in against claiming company. TIGER LISA broke her maiden at Churchill and ran against better in her Turfway debut. She also drops back in for a tag and fits at this level. SHIVOO stopped badly last out but needed that one and will like the cutback to five furlongs.
RACE 10
CERULEAN SPRINGS comes off of a couple of solid efforts over this track and rates the edge for Rick Jordan with Lagunes picking up the mount. ARTEGON has been off since June but is training well for his return. He looks dangerous despite the layoff. KENTUCKY CHROMLESS comes off of a long layoff but drops in class and gets lasix for the first time.