Turfway: How to bet the 2023 Wishing Well Stakes

An overflow field of 14 fillies and mares will contest the Saturday feature at Turfway Park, the $125,000 Wishing Well S. The 6 1/2-furlong headliner features a few sharp prospects that figure to make this an entertaining, and potentially lucrative, betting affair.

Michael Stidham’s #11 Ready to Venture (2-1) is a perfect three-for-three on the All-Weather in her lifetime, which includes a fine stakes triumph on this surface last time out. By Kingman, the five-year-old mare concluded 2022 with eight top-three finishes from nine overall tries, and she looks to be training in solid fashion in anticipation of her seasonal debut, as well.

The bay has run well off of the layoff in the past and combines tactical speed with a strong turn of foot, for a conditioner who is having a lot of success at the current meeting. The Lael Stables color bearer will be tough to fend off late with her best performance under Gerardo Corrales.

A value contender in the field is the Mike Maker-trained #6 Phantom Vision (10-1). The chestnut daughter of Declaration of War sports a 3-2-1-0 career line on synthetic surfaces and figures to relish the return to the All-Weather following six turf attempts in succession. The chestnut will also go from route racing to a dash on this occasion, which will also play to her strengths. Rafael Hernandez takes the reins.

Bill Morey’s #4 Beat the System (12-1) was in the mix late in her debut for this outfit before finishing third in the stakes ranks, and the Broken Vow mare will not need much improvement to be in the hunt inside the final furlong once again. The five-year-old is a four-time synthetic winner who will be ready to roll following four local morning drills in advance of Saturday. Chris Landeros will ride.

Brad Cox’s #7 Goin’ Good (9-2), impressive local allowance victress #3 Opening Buzz (4-1), and Greg Foley’s #12 Altered Shot (10-1), will also be included in my vertical exotics.

Wishing Well Wagers

• 50-cent superfecta: key 11 with 3, 4, 6, 7, 12 ($30)
• $1 trifecta: key 11 with 3, 4, 6, 7, 12 ($20)