Turfway Park’s Mike Battaglia provides daily selections and comments for the Tribune during the live racing meets.
Battaglia
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020
RACE 1
UNCLE EARL just missed in his debut and was well clear of the third-place finisher in that one. He should move forward in his second start and rates the edge in the opener. BANANA PEPPER drops in class and figures to be the one to beat at this level. KHALFANI debuts for William Morey, who has good numbers with his first timers.
RACE 2
DUSTY MILLER looked good breaking her maiden and ran against better just last week. Give her the nod in a wide open race. TARNISH has only had two races and should improve. IMAJIMMYCREED is a solid threat.
RACE 3
SOCIAL CIRCLE was dropped to the bottom last out and came away with a solid win. She can make it two in a row with Ramos back aboard for Genaro Garcia. GIRLS GOT TRACK has the outside post but has the speed to be on or near the lead and will be tough to catch. SHE’S ALOTTA WOMAN fits in here.
RACE 4
MAN OF BLUES has been in the money in six of his last seven races and has the speed to make the lead tonight. He should win this one at short odds. GOT THE NOTION was a couple lengths behind the top pick last out and looks second best. NOT SO QUIET MAN takes the class drop and has to be considered.
RACE 5
POSTIMPRESSIONIST was second in his first race back after an eight-month layoff. He looks like another good bet to win as the favorite. PULL ME BACK will like the move back to six furlongs and should be running at the end. SOUTHERN HUMOR is a contender.
RACE 6
PIONEER DANCER moves up in class after two straight wins over this track. He faces tougher competition this evening but is capable of extending his streak at decent odds. UNITE THE MASSES was overmatched last out but is back in for a tag tonight and is the one to beat. CALL WEST could be dangerous if left alone on the front end.
RACE 7
BINGWA is a lightly raced 4-year-old from the barn of Wes Ward. She definitely has talent but has been off since an easy win at Aqueduct back in May. She has been training steadily over this track for the past three months and figures to be ready to fire tonight. TAKE CHARGE ANGEL is also a talented runner who is in the capable hands of Ben Colebrook. She also makes her 4-year-old debut this evening and has been training well at Keeneland. SUGARSUGARSUGAR has been running well recently and figures to be closing under J. D. Ramos.
RACE 8
GUN OF GLORY lost all chance when he broke very slowly in his debut. He made up some ground late and could be tough with a better start tonight. BRONZE MEDAL drops in class and is definitely the one to beat. SANDERLIN drops in class and posted a recent bullet work.
