Turfway Park provides daily selections and comments for the Tribune during the live racing meets.
Friday Jan. 06 Perry Ouzts Day – Picks brought to you by Mike Battaglia
ITSALLBOUTTHATBASE moves up a notch after a pair of runner up finishes and gets the nod in the opener. NORVANA LUCY was beaten by a couple of these same horses in her second career start but figures to move forward off of that one and is the one to beat. FISC flashed speed last out and Jimenez picks up the mount.
RACE 2
ATRUEVISION just missed last out and a repeat of that one makes her a winner in a well matched claiming race. HOT has been off since July but drops in class for her return. Her works are spotty but anything close to her best makes her dangerous. SUITS MY FANCY is a solid threat.
RACE 3
V C F PROUD MARY loves this track. She comes off of a game score last out and is capable of the repeat win. BLEW BY TOO looked good winning her Turfway debut for Tom Drury and figures to be the main competition. CASKET MODEL rates a chance.
RACE 4
THE GREEN COUGAR looked sharp in his last win and appears to be in a good spot to make it two in a row for Genaro Garcia with Mojica aboard. CONDESTABLE showed nothing when favored against the top pick in his first try on the Poly. He gets blinkers and Jimenez for the re-match and can be expected to run much better. PURPLE SMOKE stopped badly last out but his speed makes him dangerous.
RACE 5
LIL LUCILLE and SPARKLE SLEW both come off of wins over this track and finished a length and a half apart when they hooked up at Indiana Grand back in October. Give LIL LUCILLE a slight edge. MY CALENDER GIRL drops back to the bottom and is a contender with Quinonez back aboard.
RACE 6
GIANT SECRET ran poorly in his Turfway debut but has had a couple of decent works since then and drops a notch in class. He gets blinkers and Lasix for the first time and gets the nod with Jimenez picking up the mount. STORMY MISSION also takes the big class drop. He has good early speed and is the one to catch with McKee in the saddle. KID MANGO debuts for Kim Hammond and has to be respected.
RACE 7
PALATINE HILL was checked sharply and dropped to the back of the pack last out but still rallied to finish third. A better start makes him a winner with Lezcano back aboard for Olivo Inirio. MAJOR DARBY has been off since September but Larry Smith does will with his returning runners. He has run well over this track in the past and looks dangerous with Ouzts aboard. BLUEMYMIND fits in here.
RACE 8
PROMISES BROKEN was very impressive breaking her maiden at Keeneland and ran third in a tough allowance race at Churchill last out. She has trained well over the Keeneland training track (Poly) and gets the nod in a solid allowance race. ON PROBATION ran well to finish second in her Turfway debut and a repeat of that one makes her the one to beat. HANSEN’S GIRL dropped in class to get her maiden win but did it easily and has to be considered.
RACE 9
TENACIOUS SALLY drops in class and should get a good trip from the inside post. Give her the edge. HOBO’S GIRL flashed some speed in her first try around two turns and figures to improve off of that effort. PROMISE ME SNOW is a definite threat.