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 Thursday, Feb. 25
RACE 1
MAJOR DARBY looked sharp winning last time out on the drop in class. A repeat of that effort would make him tough to handle again tonight. BILL OF RIGHTS moves back down to the same level where he won by five three starts back and is a definite contender. ARCHYBDANCING also drops in class and figures to improve in his second start over the track.
RACE 2
FUJITA FIVE has been beaten as the favorite in his last two starts at this level and is the choice to pick up the win here. HOLY FRAZIER picks up Jimenez on the drop in class and looks like the one to beat. SAINT’S BRO shows three solid efforts in his last three starts over the track and could be dangerous here if he likes the move around two turns.
RACE 3
NELYN’S FLYER didn’t fire as the favorite last time out, but is capable of better. Give her a slight edge against a soft field tonight. POBLANITA moves back down in class and has a win over the track. SILVER COIN LADY has a chance.
RACE 4
TRICK CITY didn’t show much in the slop at Gulfstream in her last start, but ran two even races on the turf before that one and will be tough to beat here if she handles the Polytrack. SECRET TRICK moves back down in class after a decent effort last time out. She was second at this level two starts back and definitely looks capable of running well again tonight. SAGE’S EPIPHANY ran a solid third in her debut and figures to move forward off of that one.
RACE 5
PADDY NOT PATTY shows two solid efforts in each of his two career starts and is the choice to pick up the maiden win here. YARBROUGH has been off since October when he didn’t fire in his debut at Indiana. He’s been gelded since that one and shows a series of solid works over the track for Maker leading up to his return. DONTMISSTHEPRIZE ran a game second at long odds in his last start and could be tough here if he repeats that effort.
RACE 6
MARTHA ROSE just missed at this level two starts back and looks like she’s in a good spot to pick up the win tonight. SUCCESSFUL BRAT finished just behind the top pick a few starts back and looks like the main competition. THE COLUMBIAN GIRL hasn’t shown much in her last two starts, but looks capable of better.
RACE 7
CITY OF TRIX has been off since early January when she ran a game second at long odds in the Wintergreen Stakes. She figures to be running at the end again tonight and rates a slight edge here. PRIMED FOR PASSION had some trouble as the favorite in her last start. A cleaner trip could make her a winner here. ROB AND JON’S GIRL caused the trouble last time out and was disqualified from the win. She figures to be on or near the lead again tonight and has eight wins over the strip here at Turfway.
RACE 8
BILLY WHITE SHOES drops in class in his first start since November and will be tough to beat here if he can handle the switch in surfaces. LET’S CALL A TRUCE won two starts back and is a contender. SHERWOOD DRIVE shows three solid efforts in his three starts over the track and has to be considered.
RACE 9
HARDCORE has been off since August when she was beaten as the favorite in two straight on the grass at Saratoga. She makes her first start over the Polytrack tonight and will be tough to handle if she returns to her previous form. SKY LANI makes her first start since May when she didn’t show much on the turf at Arlington. She’s been transferred to Maker’s barn since that one, picks up Jimenez and should be ready for her return tonight. TWELVE JEWELS ran a nice third here at Turfway in her last start and has to be considered.