It is not often that the favorite is the most exciting wagering prospect in a stakes race, but First Resort looks just that in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes on Saturday at Turfway Park. The 1 1/16-mile race on synthetic offers 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers.

Mike Battaglia, son of the race’s namesake and longtime oddsmaker for the Florence, Ky., oval, has First Resort as the 2-1 morning line favorite, which is value against my 9-5 fair odds. What’s more is that I have First Resort as three times more likely to win this race than my second choice, Coming in Hot.  But Coming in Hot is 5-1 morning line against my 8-1 fair odds, so that is a big underlay.

Horse Racing Nation projects First Resort as low as the 6-5 to 7-5 range, so I have some concern about getting my price on the win end, but the full field makes First Resort a horse to lean on in multi-race wagers.

So what’s to like? Well, the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes win last out certainly sticks out. Granted, that was on dirt and the lone non-dirt try was a troubled fourth in the Summer Stakes (G1) at Woodbine. But sire Uncle Mo is 16% with his synthetic progeny and dam Fair Maiden, by Street Boss, broke her maiden on Polytrack at Arlington.

Of the others, California Burrito might be interesting. He could be overlooked off the gate-to-wire win with an extremely slow pace. But he came home fast, and although that trip won’t be in play here, this is a colt going in the right direction with success over the surface.