After losing an entire week of racing to a winter storm followed by frigid air that remained in Kentucky, Turfway Park plans to resume racing Wednesday with an expanded 10-race card highlighted by a $180,036 carryover in the late pick five.
To help make up for losing four racing days last week, Turfway will run 10-race programs, expanded from the usual nine, starting Wednesday, with an early first post of 4 p.m. and the pick five covering races 6 through 10 on the Tapeta. This week is not without concerns about the weather, with another blast of polar air entering the region. Wednesday’s forecasted high in Florence, Ky., is 25 degrees with a low of 10 degrees, and wind chills likely to make the real feel colder.
The pick five sequence begins with an $80,000 maiden special weight in which Thunder Appeal is favored for Wesley Ward. He is coming off a solid effort in a Fair Grounds turf sprint, in which he was well beaten by next-out allowance winner Petcoff. Theismann and Obelisk might both offer some value here. Theismann, a $1.15 million yearling, has finished behind next-out winners in both his starts on the dirt in California. He switches barns from John Shirreffs to Peter Eurton, who now has a string at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Kentucky, and shortens up as he makes his synthetic debut. In addition to being by a versatile sire in Quality Road, Theismann is out of Grade 3-placed turf sprinter Brielle’s Appeal.
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Obelisk, also by Quality Road, is out of Better Lucky, a high-class versatile runner in terms of both distance and surface. She was a Grade 1 winner on turf and Grade 1-placed on both synthetic and dirt, including a runner-up effort in the Breeders’ Cup Fully and Mare Sprint. This Godolphin homebred debuts for Eoin Harty and has some solid works at Turfway.
The pick five sequence continues with a $24,700 claiming race, followed by the nominal co-features on the card – an $83,000 allowance race at a mile and an $84,000 allowance at six furlongs, both for fillies and mares. The favorite in the first allowance is Fantastical for Joe Sharp, one of just three in this field who have wins both at a mile and at Turfway. She won her maiden at this trip and was second by a head in a mile allowance here last out.
Fourfiftyseven won a maiden-claiming race at a mile last season at Turfway. Malawnia’s win at this track and distance came in December 2022.
In the allowance that follows, Heart and Enchanted Nile, the two favorites, break from posts 1 and 2, respectively. Both figure to be in a similar position just off the pace – and there should be plenty of pace in this field, from the likes of Cat Attack and Riparound.
If a pace meltdown were to develop, Hattie T could benefit if she is tight enough in her first start since April. She is coming off a strong stretch run to win a one-mile allowance on the turf at Golden Gate.
A $29,900 maiden-claiming race completes the card.
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