Captain Crunch Wins ‘Cup’; Bettors Wish Second For Us; Favorites Control Canada Stakes; Booming Place Prices Connect For Five Exactas

Early-week Hambletonian Trail (HT) blogs started our week. Check out the HT section below. Other harness reports on our selected features are noted. Saturday, June 15 Mohawk’s North America Cup program was chock full of crowd-pleasing results, leaning on the obvious candidates to win. We had to pass on the Ambro Flight when our choice, Plunge Blue Chip, scratched. As expected, Atlanta soared to all sorts of speed-and-stake records to win as the public choice. The Fan Hanover Final presented a mild upset as the favorite, Warrawee Ubeaut ($2.30, $2.10) lost to Treacherous Reign. Our exotic probable, Beautyonthebeach (95-1), was no help, finishing eighth. We also tried to beat the mega-choice Shartin N in the Roses Are Red Final but Youaremycandygirl (29-1) was not up to it, finishing fifth. Best for us was the North America Cup, which we finished second to Captain Crunch (he was on stride this week and, as we thought, not the favorite). We took the place with Bettors Wish ($4.60, $3.00). HAMBLETONIAN TRAIL Sunday, June 9 there were four sires stakes divisions for colt-trotter stakes at Pocono. We won the first split with Personal Paradise ($5.00, $2.40, $2.40 ok). We lost to the favorite in round two but completed the $9.40 exacta with Swizzle Sticks ($3.80, $2.60). We were fourth in the third split with Beautiful Sin (5-2) and in the last of the quartet our choice lost to the favorite and the rest of the field, breaking stride. Jazzy Fashion (5-1) finished seventh. That same day at Saratoga, filly trotters went to post in two sires stakes divisions. We nabbed the first field with Sweet Chapter ($11.80, $7.00, $3.30) and were second to the favorite in the other mile with Winndeve ($2.40, $2.20) for an exacta worth $5.30. More HT action took place at Buffalo on June 12, where two colt divisions went off. We won with the second, having favorite Mr Vicktor ($2.40, $2.10, $2.10 ok) after our main choice broke and finished fourth-placed-fifth in the opener. That was Livinonthedash, the race favorite. Our exotic partner, Lights Come On ($3.10) took third. Friday, June 14 the colts were in action again, this time at Philly in three divisions. We took the second split with a surprising favorite, Guaranteed ($4.20, $2.80, $2.10). Our main choice in the third split, Marseille ($3.60, $2.60) finished second and we were off the board in the opener with Forecast (11-1), who finished fourth. Saturday, June 15 at WoMo, the Goodtimes Final found us fourth with Swandre The Giant (9-2), as the favorite, Pilot Discretion, took one more step toward the August classic. H2W LIST RESULTS The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Also, exactas listed are included when a H2W horse finishes second with a race favorite or the first two finishers making up the exacta are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses were listed to complete a cold exacta). The note “ok” determines that prices published are correct even when a show price exceeds a place price or any or all of the prices are the same. This week, there were 67 active horses (a 12-percent win hit rate and a 43-percent ATB [across-the-board] hit rate). Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place, show and exotic results occurring by press time but some horses race after the blog is posted (we list them the following weeks) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review. Winners Awesomeworld, $18.00, $7.60, $4.00, Running Aces Thor, $10.60, $5.90, $2.80, Monticello Custom Cantab, $5.40, $2.40, $2.10, Tioga Micky Gee N, $4.30, $2.60, $2.40, Yonkers Come Get The Cash, $4.20, $2.80, $2.30, Vernon Decoy, $4.20, $2.80, $2.40, Philly Halliama, $3.60, $3.60, $2.10, Saratoga Optimist Blue Chip, $3.20, $2.60, $2.20, Pocono Seconds All About Amy, $25.20, $10.20 (Exacta $54.80), Northfield Notagain, $12.80, $6.90 (Exacta $37.20), Monticello Marvalous Town, $10.20, $5.60, Meadows DJ Lance, $7.80, $4.40, Hawthorne Eachyahartout, $7.80, $6.20 (Exacta $27.40), Buffalo Adenium, $7.60, $4.60, Tioga Vodcancaviar, $6.00, $5.80 (Exacta $22.40), Plainridge Coco Lindy, $5.20, $3.80 (Exacta $18.40), Plainridge Come On Red, $3.20, $2.10, Monticello Champagne Shower, $2.20, $2.10, Northfield Slzburgerlzburger, $2.20, $2.20 ok, Hawthorne Thirds Royal Courtier, $9.80, Scarborough Medieval Dragon, $7.60, Hoosier Mr Bigly, $7.20, Hoosier Half Moon Rising, $4.90, Saratoga Shalara, $4.20, Scioto Cams Candy Girl, $3.80, Plainridge Westernexposure, $3.40, Philly Lonnies Crown, $2.70, Hiawatha Ramblintime, $2.20, Scarborough Sesame, $2.20, Scioto News & Notes The 2019 Pennsylvania fair circuit began Saturday, June 15 in a northwest town, outside of Erie. It was the first of 20 scheduled stops on this year’s Pennsylvania fair circuit. Though the fair circuit does not offer pari-mutuel racing, many of the horse participating will make it to the state’s major racing venues. The “A” division sire stakes horses race in the fair to accumulate enough high-finish points in their competitions to race on the Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes Championship program, Oct. 5 at the Meadows. We will monitor the fair contestants and those earning promise will appear on the H2W list when they are in wagering races. Stay tuned. Similarly, the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development Program is poised to launch the 2019 Indiana Sired Fair Circuit. A large number of two year olds take to the track for the first time this month. The Indiana-Sired Fair Circuit is a series of races at State County and State Fairs, events limited to standardbreds foaled in Indiana and sired by a stallion that stands in the state. Races are held for two- and three-year-old pacers and trotters. We will keep our eye on successful fair performers that may wind up at Hoosier. They will appear in our H2W list. Greenshoe, the three-year-old trotting colt currently number two in the Hambletonian Trail Top Ten (weekly listed in the Hambletonian Trail blog) presented a sterling mile during the June 12 qualifying session at Pocono. In rein to his regular driver Brian Sears, the son of Father Patrick, a lightly raced freshman, won in 1:52. Greenshoe cut fractions of :28, :55.4, and 1:24.1. He was in the lead by 15 lengths at the half and won by 28 lengths. The Marcus Melander-conditioned trotter raced last when winning the New Jersey Sire Stakes Final at the Meadowlands on May 31. The qualifying victory sets him up perfectly for the eliminations of the Earl Beal Trot at Pocono on June 22. The $500,000 Beal championship is on June 29. Yonkers Raceway’ Pick 5 guarantee is back on the track’s programs since racing returned from a short hiatus. A minimum $10,000 pot is available every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening, partially due to USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program. The popular, fair-payoff Pick 5 is a 50-cent base wager that includes either races six through 10 in a 10-race program, or seven through 11 (in a program of 11 or more races) It has no consolation payoff, so the reward is carried over to the next sequence. Extraordinary Extras Indulge in our monthly columns, Alternative Actions and Bettors Banquet at Harness Racing Update