This Saturday’s live race card at Turfway Park in Kentucky is highlighted by a 6½ furlong sprint on the track’s synthetic turf for three-year old Thoroughbreds.
While this ungraded stakes race is not considered a major event on the 2022 Kentucky Derby prep schedule, this year’s Turfway Prevue does offer a strong field of nine contenders that should make this a very interesting and competitive race.
With nine colts listed as entered, you should make a side note of the colt that goes on to win this race. Even though it is being contested on turf, that colt becomes a possible candidate to join this year’s Kentucky Derby Trail.
2022 Turfway Prevue Picks
Digging deep into the field of nine entries for this year’s Turfway Prevue, I have come up with my top three contenders to finish in the money.
Where: Turfway Park
Win: Kaely’s Brother
Trained by Brad Cox, this three-year old Kentucky-bred colt will break from the No. 6 post on Saturday night with Joe Talamo as his jockey. Coming off a disappointing fifth-place finish in last year’s ungraded Sugar Bowl Stakes at Fair Grounds on Dec. 27 to close out his juvenile career, this snapped a two-race winning streak.
The son of Twirling Candy won the ungraded Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Down on Nov. 20. He covered a mile on dirt in 1:41.40 past Waita Minute Hayes and Vodka Gimlet. He also won a six furlong Maiden Special Weight race at Keeneland in early October. Heading into this race, Kaely’s Brother has a Horse Racing Nation rating of 5.30, which is the highest rating in this field of nine.
Place: Red Label
My second choice in this year’s Turfway Prevue drew the No. 5 post. He will have Rafael Bejarno on board as his jockey for this race. The son of Sky Kingdom closed out his juvenile campaign on a high note by winning a seven furlong sprint on the dirt track at Churchill Downs on Nov. 19. He covered that distance in 1:23.58.
Trainer Larry Demeritte kept his prized Kentucky-bred colt busy last year with a total of seven races. He won a seven furlong Maiden Claimer at Ellis Park early in his career. Red Label placed fourth in the ungraded Arlington-Washington Futurity at the old Arlington Park in late August before that track closed. This was his only run of the season in a stakes race.
Show: Lucky Shot
I decided to stretch the odds a bit for my third choice in this race. Lucky Shot is one of four entries in this field that is not yet rated by HRN. However, he is coming off a victory his last time out. With a winning time of 1:10.49, he covered six furlongs on dirt in the victory at Hawthorne on Dec. 19 as the final race of his two-year season. He will start this race from the No. 7 post with ET Baird as his jockey.
The son of Trappe Shot comes from excellent pedigree going back to Unbridled. His was hit or miss as a juvenile with two victories and three other finishes out of the money. However, trainer Dee Poulos continues to have high expectations for this season given this Kentucky-bred colt’s overall potential. A win on Saturday at Turfway would definitely be a huge step in the right direction, but all I am looking for is a finish in the show position.
