TC Trail Goes To TP for Battaglia

By Cozman on February 18, 2025 • ( 0 )

2/22/2025

3 TP Battaglia Memorial Stakes [KYD]

$175.000 1^1/16th Mile Dirt 3yo 122lbs

The Road to Louisville continues and we will obviously have a full gate for the Battaglia, a mile and a sixteenth test on the dust-bowl, here at TP. I’m still not sure why this race hasn’t been moved to a graded event, obviously, that outside of the game, but it seems like just about anything with KYD points should. This is an important race.

Speaking of important, we need to hunker down and keep our decent TC race picks in order, so let’s head to the outside post and put Honour The Lord as the top pick today. He’s won over this track, last out in the TP Prevue, and you know me and the firm belief in horses for courses, and this is also a horse that has three wins – but, the distance could be the big question mark for him.

One reason we’ve been successful in the picks is sticking with the Big Barn, so let’s give Mb a big look in this one and put Checkered in the middle of things. He only has the maiden win, and tired badly to be eighth in the Leonatus Stakes over this track, but I like that runner-up effort in the Gun Runner, and that was at today’s distance.

Another that ran a bad race last out is my third choice, In Good Order. He only beat one in the Southwest (GIII) at OP, but I’ve seen this movie far too many times. OP and those tight turns can be tough on some, just like PIM. He ran a big race when third in the KY Jockey Club (GII) as a 2yo, and I think he runs another bang-up today.

The Card has some agreement with me, but also like the inside horses. Cherokee Revolution ran a big race to be third in the Lecomte (GIII) and won a LA-bred stakes. Mango Or MInt was third in the Mucho Macho Man and won an Alw race over this surface, so I can certainly give a nod to both of those as well.

It’s a wide open race, thus why my picks are all over the street, so let’s get a good spot to take this one in.

Here’s The Field –