Goodtimes Stakes Elims Among Several Weekend Trail Preps With Great Betting Opportunities

 The Goodtimes Stakes is the first of the major stakes events on the Hambletonian Trail and Mohawk Racetrack will be contesting two eliminations for the event on Friday, June 9.

Elimination one features Hambo hopefuls Jake, Snowstorm Hanover, Seven And Seven, Guardian Angel As, Southwind Woody, and International Moni. While favoritism will likely split between Jake and Seven And Seven, the public will likely ignore Guardian Angel As, who steps up from a sharp performance in a division of the Excelsior Series at Vernon. Entering off a three-race winning streak, he appears to be improving and should be ready to face top trotters who are not yet at their best form.

The second elimination gathers hopefuls Shake It Off Lindy, Enterprise, Awol Hanover, and Southwind Cobra. Of the eligibles, Shake It Off Lindy, shipping to Canada off two good qualifiers at the Meadowlands, should offer the best price. Though Enterprise is likely the horse to beat, no trotter aside from him stands out, so, if not at his best, Shake It Off Lindy could certainly pick him off.

Alongside the Goodtimes eliminations, Philadelphia will host four divisions of the $147,856 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) for three-year-old filly trotters on Thursday, June 8, Vernon will run two eliminations for the colt split of the Empire Breeders Classic (EBC) on Saturday, June 10 and Pocono Downs will hold three divisions of the $144,231 PASS for three-year-old colt trotters also on Saturday.

The first PASS split at Philly attracts “Oaks” hopefuls Sparkle Plenty, Future Secured, Temple Ruins, Overdraft Volo, and Princess Aurora, with Princess Aurora being the likely favorite. Proving volatile before as the favorite in a PASS split at the Meadows, Princess Aurora appears to be vulnerable again as she draws poorly. Given that, Temple Ruins, if she can work out the ground trip possible with an inside draw, might be able to score an upset. At the very least, she’ll be a mid-level price that will likely complete some exotic.

Treviso highlights the second PASS division, competing against fellow hopefuls Sheez On A Cruze, Broadway Idole, and Cool Cates, who is the obvious counter contender to the probable favorite. However, drawing well once more, Sheez On A Cruze should once again be involved in some form at a price. While betting on her to beat Treviso is a long shot, she will nonetheless be competitive in the exotic realm just as Temple Ruins should in the division prior.

Onda Su, That’s All Moni, Decadence, Crann Tara, and Fine Tuned Lady are the hopefuls in the third division, which could be the one most likely to offer a price. With the uncertain gait of Onda Su and the outside draw for speedster Fine Tuned Lady, the possible chaos created from this event could allow for The Erm to step up and win. Off an impressive win at Pocono against conditioned stock, she was previously third to Crann Tara in a PASS division at the Meadows but draws well enough and is in better form to redeem herself.
The final PASS filly split gathers hopefuls Caviart Wonder, Sianna Hanover, Vodka N Lindy, Can’t I, and Dangle Then Deke, who is likely to be the longest price of all the hopefuls with a likely better chance than her odds will capture. Coming off of two clearly poor races in a PASS split and a Currier & Ives split respectively, she was most likely impacted by some outside condition like sickness or equipment malfunctions, etc. In a race where the chalk will likely reign, Dangle Then Deke makes the most sense for a leap-of-faith play.

In the first elimination for the EBC at Vernon, Bill’s Man will be the likely favorite as he races alongside fellow Hambo hopefuls Money Macintosh, Top Flight Angel, Such An Angel, and Another Chapter. Of the two eliminations, this one features the most beatable favorite in Bill’s Man, who was defeated a week ago by Stick With Me Kid now neighboring him on the starting gate.

Making his second start since competing during the Grand Circuit fortnight at The Red Mile last fall, Such An Angel put in a good performance against Devious Man, who is likely the top trotter on the New York circuit. Only being able to improve from that line, he will likely be underrepresented on the board.

Devious Man is the headlining act of the second elimination, competing against the other Hambo hopeful Shivered and five others. Of the others, Swell Chap should be able to provide a decent exotic, as Devious Man is another favorite that will be hard to beat. This isn’t to say Swell Chap is incapable to beating Devious Man, but with his off-the-pace racing style, he will most likely be chasing for minor spots.

Finally, kicking off the PASS splits for the colts is the division featuring hopefuls Sortie, Di Oggi, Muscles Jared, Lucky Matter, and Rubio. While Sortie is the clear-cut favorite here, Lucky Matter has the potential to race well in only the fourth start of his career. Exiting a decent qualifier at Scioto, he broke as the favorite in a division of The Stallion Series at the Meadows, which was also his seasonal debut. Though inexperienced and, again, unlikely to beat the favorite, he’ll be a price that should be involved.

Division two attracts eligibles Thisguyisonfire, Dover Dan, Moonshiner Hanover, Meme Hanover, and Sir John F. If Moonshiner Hanover is not sent off the favorite in this event he will likely be the value of the race off a sharp pocket-ride effort in a division of the Currier & Ives last week. If he is played, however, Thisguyisonfire could improve well enough with the inside draw to pull off something at a price.

Concluding this week’s Trail action, the final PASS split features hopefuls President Lindy, Perfect Spirit, Giveitgasandgo, and Don Dream. Value in this race, if he is not bet down to favoritism, should come from Giveitgasandgo, who could set himself up to get the pocket trip, which is the most prized trip one can get at Pocono. He will likely not be bet, however, as Don Dream exits an impressive-enough looking race to take a ton of money.

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The racing of classic divisions—soph-colt-and-filly trotters—on their quest to the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks finals continues its exclusive, extended coverage from TwinSpires and the Hambletonian Society. Recaps of races covered in this blog can be found at the archive section of the web’s home for the Hambletonian Society.