Pick 3 of the Week: Turfway Park Saturday [Feb 22]

February 21st, 2025

The $175,000 John Battaglia Memorial S. leads a 10-race card at Turfway Park on Saturday, and the Pick 3 of the Week will conclude with the feature. 

Race 5 Wager

  • $1 Pick 3: 5,6,8,9 with 2,3,6,8 with 7,9 ($32)

Race 5 – Maiden Special Weight

A cast of 12 three-year-olds will jaunt 6 1/2 panels in the opening leg. #5 Nastinate showed early interest before tiring in the lane in a strong maiden tilt on the dirt at Oaklawn at first asking, and I expect big improvement from the second timer in this spot. The $290,000 juvenile purchase got in a work over the course in advance of his local debut and will have Joe Ramos signed on. 

Mike Maker’s #6 Discotheque missed by a nose in his first run on the strip and is a must-use in his second local appearance. Rodolphe Brisset’s debuter #8 Nantucket and Canadian invader #9 Megalodon are both logical inclusions to commence the play. 

Race 6 – Allowance

A well-matched field of 10 will run 1 1/4 miles in a tricky middle leg of the sequence. I feel that the Graham Motion-trained #2 Soleil Volante will love the distance and he is my tepid top selection in the tilt. The Karakontie gelding moves from the green to the synthetic for his local debut and will save ground throughout with Luis Saez taking the reins. 

Mike Maker’s #3 Mikealicious, Peter Eurton’s #6 Passing Game, and recent allowance third #8 Welaka will also make the ticket. 

Race 7 – John Battaglia Memorial S. 

The headliner attracted a big group, and while I feel that there are a quartet of horses that can win the race, I’ll stand pat with the two most logical runners in the field. #9 First Resort flashed considerable ability during his very good two-year-old campaign, which was capped with a stylish win in the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) for  trainer Eoin Harty. The Uncle Mo colt has trained swiftly on the surface as of late and will be tough to upend with something resembling his best run. 

#7 Baby Max was pulling away late in his Leonatus S. triumph on the oval most recently and continues to improve for conditioner Kelsey Danner. The bay son of Maximus Mischief retains the services of pilot Abel Cedillo. 

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