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 Friday, Jan. 22
RACE 1
DEVADUTT shows three decent efforts in his last three starts over the track and is the choice to pick up the maiden win. BROADWAYDANNIEROSE has been beaten as the favorite in each of his last five starts dating back to May. He shows some nice works over the track here at Turfway since his last and definitely looks like the one to beat if he’s at his best. BEER ME didn’t show much last time out, but should like the move back around one turn tonight.
RACE 2
MOJA NAGRODA comes in off a second place finish against a few of these same horses and rates a slight edge here. PEW finished just behind the top pick last time out and should move forward in her second start back from the layoff. GLORY STUDENT broke her maiden in her first starts over the track and looks capable of running well here.
RACE 3
KEEPING IT REAL was second behind a comeback winner in his first start over the track back in December. He figurest to be on or near the lead again tonight and gets in light with Gallardo. YA MON drops in class after two solid efforts at Hawthorne and looks like the one to beat. SETTLEYOURCRACKERS showed some improvement last time out on the move back down in class and looks like a nice fit at this level.
RACE 4
MEGNOG didn’t fire against a tough starter allowance field last time out, but looked very sharp drawing off to win by ten before that one. Anything close to her best should make her a winner tonight. RUPERTACTOFDUTY has won three of her last four starts, including a win here at Turfway last time out and looks like the main candidate to spring the upset. MEGA SENNA has a chance.
RACE 5
BUD’S BAYONET ran a game second at long odds against a solid field here at Turfway last time out. A repeat of that effort would make him tough to handle tonight. KNIGHT OF VALOR makes his first start since June of 2014 when he showed some decent form on the grass in Florida and New York. He shows some nice works over Keeneland’s training track leading up to his return and definitely looks capable of winning here if Lyster has him ready. KODA CHARM was third in his debut at Belterra back in May and Drury’s horses have been running well lately.
RACE 6
RED HOT PLOT shows three solid efforts in her last three starts over the track here at Turfway. She comes into tonight off a close second place finish at this same level and is the choice for the win here. ALL ABOUT BROWNIE didn’t fire as the favorite last time out, but ran well before that one and would be no surprise here. STARMY makes her second start back from the layoff and has three wins over the track.
RACE 7
CASH IN MY POCKET drops in for a tag for the first time in her first start since October when she moved to Danny Werre’s barn. She’s inconsistent, but has run some strong races against tougher and it looks like she’s in a good spot to pick up the win tonight. CHEROKEE IN ME has also been off since October when she broke her maiden in impressive fashion in her debut at Mountaineer. She shows some nice works over the track here at Turfway and could be dangerous if she improves in her second career start. ARYA was no match for an impressive winner at this same level last time out and picks up Jimenez tonight.
RACE 8
SCARLET’S NUMBER drops in class after two second place finishes in her first two starts over the track. She has the tactical speed to be in a good spot throughout, give her a slight edge against a solid field. ALYCZARA has shown some strong form recently at Hawthorne and owns a win over the Polytrack at Arlington. She drops in class tonight and looks like the one to beat here. CAHOKIA moves back up in class after a nice win over the track here back in early December and has to be considered.
RACE 9
PRINCESS DROSSIE just missed last time out against a solid field and is the choice for the win tonight in a wide-open maiden race. PICK POCKET didn’t fire on the dirt at Keeneland last time out, but ran well in her two previous starts on the turf. She runs for the leading connections of the Ramsey’s, Maker and Jimenez and figures to be ready for her return tonight. ALWAYS AND FOREVER gets lasix for the first time after finishing a close third here at Turfway last time out. She has the speed to be dangerous, has run well at this distance before and could be dangerous tonight in her first start around two turns.