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 Sunday, Jan. 17
RACE 1
GRAND KENDRA drops in class in her first start since September when she broke her maiden at Churchill. She gets in light today with Gallardo and rates a slight edge here. LADY PRADO didn’t fire against allowance company last time out, but broke her maiden at this level before that one and would be no surprise here. TIA CHUY makes her first start since September when she beat an allowance field at Mountaineer and is the only multiple winner in the field.
RACE 2
ROYAL SPACES just missed last time out and is the choice to pick up the maiden win with Jimenez getting the mount. GRACE BE GREAT was third against similar last time out and looks like a contender. SARAKAI moves back down in class and is a threat.
RACE 3
ARTIC SKY has run well against tougher in his last two starts since being claimed and is the choice for the win on the move back down in class. CALMER THAN YOU has shown some decent form in Chicago over the past year and shouldn’t mind the switch in surfaces today. NIMBLE TIGER comes in off a win at Mahoning and has to be considered.
RACE 4
NEVERADULLMOMENT has won four in a row coming into this one, including an impressive win here at Turfway in his first start over the track and is the choice for the win despite the move up in class. MAJOR DARBY drops in class after a disappointing effort last time out in his first start since September and looks like the one to beat. BRACIGLIANO moved to Maker’s barn after a disappointing effort as the favorite at Gulfstream last time out and shouldn’t mind the move to the Polytrack.
RACE 5
THESTARVINGARTIST comes in off a win over the track and has been running well recently, give him a slight edge in a wide-open field. NO CRIME faded after setting the pace around two turns last time out and should like the move back to sprinting today. EURO CASH has been idle since July when he won three in a row at Belterra and could be dangerous here if he’s ready.
RACE 6
SUPERSECRET has shown some decent form on the turf in Florida recently and is the choice for the win here. JAIS MICHAEL ran an even race against allowance company at Hawthorne last time out and looks like the one to beat on the drop in class. SAINT’S BRO looked sharp winning last time out in his first start over the track and definitely looks capable of running well again today.
RACE 7
SWEPT UP looked very sharp drawing off to win by six back in mid December in her first start over the Polytrack. A repeat of that effort would make her tough to beat again today for Lopresti and Doyle. SWEETSOUTHERNDAME has won two in a row here at Turfway and is the one to beat with Jimenez back in the irons. KIDS TUITION has been off since October when she showed some good form over the turf on the east coast.
RACE 8
TWIZZ ran a nice third in his debut here at Turfway on new year’s eve. He figures to move forward off of that one and looks like he’s in a good spot to pick up the maiden win. HOWLING WOLF has been second in two of three career starts and looks like the main competition. BANDAR ran an even race behind the top pick in his debut and is a threat.
RACE 9
SIVA was no match for an impressive winner last time out, but was clearly second best in that one. He drops in class today and looks best in another well-matched field. JAGUAR RIDGE hasn’t shown much recently, but should like the move back to a synthetic track where he’s done his best running. RIP AND ROLL looked sharp wiring the field last time out. A repeat of that effort could make him tough to run down again today.