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 Saturday, March 5
RACE 1
CRITICAL SUMMER comes in off of three decent efforts at this same level, give her the edge to pick up the maiden win here. BOOGIEWOOGIEDANCIN drops in class and looks like a contender. SAGE MASTER has a chance.
RACE 2
RENN LAKE has shown some good form recently with a win and two seconds from his last three starts and looks best in against a wide-open field. IRUSAN won two in a row her at Turfway at this bottom level back in December and looks like the one to beat on the move back down in class. TIMELY PURSUIT also moves back down in class and would be no surprise here.
RACE 3
GOODBYE N HER EYES didn’t show much against allowance company in her last start, but drops in class tonight and will be tough to beat here. MY CALDENDAR GIRL shows a few decent efforts at this level in her last few starts and shouldn’t mind the move back around two turns. BLACK BUTTERFLY comes in off a nice maiden win and should be able to handle the extra distance tonight.
RACE 4
J.T.’S HEAT was beaten as the favorite last time out, but hooks a softer spot tonight and it looks like he’s in a good spot to pick up the win here. TOWER EAST is inconsistent, but capable of running well here if at his best. LOCKANDLOAD didn’t show much in his first attempt over the track, but could improve off of that one.
RACE 5
MEGA SENNA looked sharp winning against similar here at Turfway last time out. A repeat of that effort would make her tough again tonight. AZIFORCAST finished just behind the top pick last time out and won by seven before that one. PRECIOUS WISH comes in off a nice win against similar and could be dangerous here.
RACE 6
DERBY FAN looked sharp drawing off to break his maiden by five on the drop in class in his last start. He figures to be on or near the lead again tonight and looks best against a short field. SIXES RIVER has been idle since early January when he broke his maiden at first asking here at Turfway. He’s been training steadily since that one and could be dangerous here despite the move up in class. STAY ON SHORE didn’t show much last time out, but drops in for a tag for the first time and could be dangerous here.
RACE 7
POINT OF NO RETURN takes a big drop in class in her first in nearly a year when she broke her maiden at first asking at Churchill. Anything close to that effort should make her a winner here. NELYN’S FLYER has been beaten as the favorite in her last two starts at this level and looks like the main competition. KUDZU DANCE has improved in each of her last three starts over the track and is a threat.
RACE 8
LILLY’S DREAM has been idle since October when she didn’t fire on the dirt at Keeneland. She ran two solid races against stakes company on the grass before that one and will be tough to handle tonight if she’s ready for her return. EMMA’S PARADE ran an even race at this same level last time out after having been off since December. She figures to move forward off of that one and would be no surprise here. MINE AS WELL comes in off a nice maiden win in her first attempt over the track and looks like a contender tonight.
RACE 9
MAJESTIC DREAM has been idle since October when he didn’t fire as the favorite at Indiana. He ran a solid race at Churchill before that one, give him a slight edge against a wide-open maiden field. KEIGHTLY is a first time starter from Maker’s barn who has been training well over the Polytrack leading up to tonight. SCISSORS AND TAPE is another Maker trainee, this one is coming from Oaklawn where he didn’t show much in either of his starts. He ran a solid race in his debut at the Fairgrounds and could be dangerous tonight if he takes to the Polytrack.
RACE 10
QUEEN OF SPRING comes in off a nice second place finish against similar and looks best against a very well-matched field. BAJA BESSIE shows a win, a second and a third place finish from his last three starts over the track and shouldn’t mind the move back to sprinting. HERSILIA has been running against tougher and was a winner over the track at this same distance the last time she raced at this bottom level.