Turfway Park will offer Kentucky Derby and Oaks qualifiers on Saturday, the $125,000 John Battaglia Memorial S. and $125,000 Cincinnati Trophy S. for fillies. Both races will award points on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the top four finishers.
John Battaglia Memorial S. – Race 5 (8:14 p.m. ET)
Grade 2 turf winner Tiz the Bomb, runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) two back, will switch to Tapeta for the Battaglia. Seventh when opening his three-year-old season in Feb. 5 Holy Bull S. (G3) on Gulfstream’s main track, the Kenny McPeek-trained colt tops a field of 14, including a pair of also-eligible runners, in the 1 1/16-mile race.
Alex Achard will pick up the mount on the late runner. By Hit a Bomb, Tiz the Bomb is being considered for overseas engagements this spring, the 2,000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket on April 30 and the Epsom Derby (G1) at Epsom on June 4.
His main rivals in the Battaglia include Erase, a two-length winner of the Jan. 22 Leonatus S. Turfway; Bloodline and Stolen Base, second and third in the grassy Texas Mile S. at Sam Houston on Jan. 30; Grey (G2) third-placer On Thin Ice; and last-out maiden rompers Goldeneye and La Belleza Negra.
Cincinnati Trophy S. – Race 6 (8:46 p.m. ET)
Unbeaten from four starts, Marissa’s Lady will be a prohibitive favorite over eight rivals following a six-length romp in the Feb. 12 Valdale S. at Turfway. The gray Violence filly has been odds-on in her last two stakes wins, and Rafael Bejarano will retain the assignment for Bill Morey.
Her challengers in the mile event include Grade 3 queen Bubble Rock, second in the Valdale; Valentina Day, who will make her stakes debut following a pair of comfortable wins over maiden and entry-level allowance foes at Turfway; and recent allowance winner Tap Dancing Lady.
