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, April 1
RACE 1
SWEETS N TREATS has five second place finishes from six starts at Turfway, but should be tough to beat tonight. TIZNOW SUNRISE looked good winning two starts back, and should appreciate the class drop. ANGE GRISE has been off since September and is questionable over the surface.
RACE 2
IS THAT JACK just raced a week ago in New Orleans and looks best here on the drop in class. YARBROUGH also comes in on the class drop and figures to be the one to beat. ALL BLINGED OUT shows some decent works leading up to his debut.
RACE 3
NORTHERN RANGER has been well beaten in his last two, but broke his maiden against tougher before those and will be tough to handle tonight on the drop in class. LAFLOWMYLAXBRO takes a big drop in class in his first start since September. He won in his only attempt over the track last year and could be dangerous if he’s ready. CROOKED COURT moves back down in class and is a contender.
RACE 4
BATTLE ON shows a win and two second place finishes in his last three starts since moving to Turfway. A repeat of those efforts should make him a winner tonight. DOLLAR DOBLADO ran a solid race against similar back in early February and should move forward off of that one. SHERWOOD DRIVE finished just behind the top pick last time out and would be no surprise here.
RACE 5
GOODGOLLYMIZTIZ takes a big drop in class after beating half the field last time out and is the choice to pick up the maiden win here. SKY LANI was second at odds on in her last start and looks like the main competition. LA CHURRUCA ran a decent race at first asking and should improve tonight.
RACE 6
ORBITAL FLAG ran a decent race against similar last time out and it looks like she’s in a good spot to pick up the win here. GOLD PASSION drops in class and is a threat. L Z NANCY has been in the money in three of five lifetime starts.
RACE 7
ARBORETUM is inconsistent, but ran a solid race against similar two starts back and could score here at decent odds. EXCITING BAND was beaten as the favorite last time out, but has five wins over the track. SHUT UP CHRIS has shown some decent form sprinting and is bred to like the move around two turns tonight.
RACE 8
THREE LOVES AND ME didn’t fire last time out, but ran well at this same level in two straight before that one, give her the edge here. SEE THE BIRD drops in for a tag for the first time and looks capable of running well here. LILY OF THE NILE has a chance.
RACE 9
MY BIRTHDAY GAL figures to be the one to beat on the drop back down to this bottom level. SARAYU has been in the money in eight of ten starts at Turfway, and should be in the mix again tonight. MI ERMANA TINA looks to be coming into form and has a shot tonight.
RACE 10
MAGIC TRICK didn’t hit the board in four tries at Tampa, but drops in class and rates a slight edge in a wide-open maiden field. KITTENS WARRIOR didn’t fire last time out, but a return to previous form makes him a contender. PIONEER JUSTICE should improve on the switch to the Polytrack.