Picks and comments for Saturday, Feb. 20
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.
Race 1
CHIEF BLANCO tries sprinting for the first time after a third place finish as this same level on the drop in class in his last starts. Give him a slight edge to pick up the maiden win here. FORGE SIGNATURE has been third in two of his three lifetime starts and looks like the one to beat here. NOTMUCHTOLOOKAT didn’t fire last time out, but is capable of better.
Race 2
GREY BALLS OF FIRE ran a nice second last time out in his first start over the track and looks best here on the drop in class. WROUGHT was no match for the winner in his first start here at Turfway. He figures to move forward off of that one and definitely looks capable of running well here. STRONGBOX has a chance.
Race 3
SONOF A MONSTERCAT was second going longer at this same level last time out and should appreciate the move back to sprinting tonight, give him the edge here. IRUSAN drops in class after a few even efforts over the track and would be no surprise here. TIMELY PURSUIT didn’t show much last time out, but was running well before that one.
Race 4
NOCHE AZUL ran a solid race at long odds coming back from a layoff in his last starts. Any improvement off of that effort could make him dangerous here. M K’S DELIGHT has been in the money in nearly half of his lifetime starts and is a contender. PEQUOT drops in class in his first start since May.
Race 5
NIFTY FIFTY has been running well since moving to Turfway, with two wins and a second place finish in his last three starts. He beat the likely favorite in his last start and looks best again tonight. WAR RANGER looked sharp drawing off to win by six last time out and looks like the one to beat. YARDBIRD MISFITS has been beaten as the favorite in each of his last two starts at this bottom level, but is capable of better.
Race 6
HENRY EIGHT has been idle since March of last year when he ran well in his two starts over the surface here at Turfway. A return to that form would make him tough to beat here. LONG AGO makes his first start since moving to Colebrook’s barn after a disappointing effort at Delaware in his debut. He picks up Jimenez tonight and should produce a much better effort. FLYING EAGLE is a first time starter from Brown’s barn who shows some sharp works over the track leading up to tonight.
Race 7: The WEBN Stakes
SURGICAL STRIKE might prefer to go longer, but has shown some strong form on the grass throughout his career. He figures to be running at the end in a race that should have a solid pace, give him a slight edge against a very well-matched field. BANREE is a filly from Ward’s barn who has been idle since early November when she was third in the G3 Tempted at Aqueduct. She shows some solid works over the track since that one and gets in light and picks up Prado for her return. OH OZ has looked very sharp drawing off to win each of his last two starts here at Turfway. A repeat of either of those efforts would make him tough to beat again tonight.
Race 8
INDIAN ROCKET was second best behind an impressive winner last time out in her first start over the track. Any improvement in her second start over the surface could make her a winner here. CLASSY TEACHER comes in off a nice maiden win here at Turfway in her first attempt over the Polytrack. She gets Jimenez back in the irons tonight and looks like the one to beat. LUNA ARGENTA didn’t fire last timeout, but just missed at this same level before that one and would be no surprise here.
Race 9
CORNIA CHARM shows two solid efforts since moving to this bottom level and is the choice for the win here. REGAL MARKET drops in class in her first start since July and has run well over the surface before. GILLEY won last time out and has to be considered.
Race 10
DO I DO has been idle since Dec. when he was third at this level. He has two wins from six starts over the track. Give him the edge against a wide-open field. ARVAK was well beaten as the favorite in his last start, but he has had some time since that one and should improve in his second start over the track. BIG ROYAL DEAL has a chance.