Hambletonian Trail: Glamour-Boy-And-Girl Trotters Mix It Up At Vernon And The Meadows

 

Hambletonian Trail competition returns to Vernon Downs and the Meadows on Friday, May 18 and Saturday May 19, respectively, with Vernon hosting both sexes of soph trotter with a total of five eliminations for the Empire Breeders Classic (EBC) and the Meadows contesting colts in three divisions of the $131,166 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS). Plus, a few eligible fillies show up at Mohawk on May 19.

Fillies begin the EBC action, with “Oaks” hopefuls Tribute To Seven, Perfect Summer K and Atlanta sparring against six others, including the potential value of the race: Chaperess. The Trond Smedshammer trainee debuted well in the New York Sires Stakes (NYSS) over at Yonkers recently and, moving to the bigger track, is bound to improve. However, do not necessarily discount Atlanta from the mix, as she is the class of the group and can potentially be overlooked starting from post 9.

Plunge Blue Chip heads the Oaks hopefuls in the second EBC elimination, which includes Ciao Dolce, Repentance and Mooshka Stride. While Plunge Blue Chip is a worthy favorite, Mooshka Stride, starting from post 8, should go off an inflated price as a result. Making her third start off a layoff, she has performed well with first-over trips in both and could outperform her odds if given a good setup.

The final filly elim gathers eligibles Fury Road, Supergirl Riley, Baby Wants and Jordan Blue Chip, of which Jordan Blue Chip will likely take public favoritism. Ineligible though with a shot, Lucky Rainbow draws well in her return to the bigger track following a break in the NYSS at Yonkers. She improved in her two starts at the Meadowlands and likely enters this race more tuned.

Kicking off the colt elims are Hambo hopefuls Kinda Lucky Lindy, Six Pack, Southwind Chrome, Vic’s Winner and Classichap. Six Pack, off a win at Vernon in an NYSS split, approaches this field as the favorite, though Smedshammer-trainee Classichap should offer value if sent the second choice in his second start of the year. He made a last-to-first move in his NYSS split, losing narrowly to Don. Should he improve from that effort, he certainly can beat Six Pack.

From the rail, do not discount Kinda Lucky Lindy, who also makes his second start of the season. Lacking kick in the stretch last out, his inside draw this week could be enough to put him in contention, considering he was relegated to the back of the field as a result of starting from post 7.

The other colt elim collects Hambo-eligibles Cruising In Style, Purpose Blue Chip, Don and Tito. After attempting to wire the field in his seasonal debut, Cruising In Style appears to be in a prime position to perform well in his second outing of the year. Drawing inside with probable speed to his outside, he could work out a more conservative trip that puts him into the winner’s circle.

Opening the PASS splits is a field containing hopefuls Thrust Control, Dawson Springs, Hill Street and Canale Hanover. Favoritism in this race, however, belongs to ineligible Make It A Double, just as our value radar is pointed towards fellow ineligible Whats The Word, who has several strong efforts in conditioned company from outside posts over at Pocono. Entering off a 7-length win in his most recent start, he very well could pop at a price.

Patent Leather enters the second division as the probable favorite against fellow hopefuls Evaluate, Captain Morgan and Mister Of All. With the rail, Patent Leather will serve as a difficult favorite to topple, but underneath, Captain Morgan may be able to make exotics worth playing. Cruising to victory in his seasonal debut at Hoosier Park, he moves into this event in decent form compared to his lackluster ability demonstrated at the end of last season.

The final grouping gathers eligibles Moosonee, Gemologist, probable-favorite Fashionwoodchopper, Garnet and Cantabarnet. Making his seasonal debut and removing hopples, Moosonee appears to be a sharp value play starting to the inside of the chalk. Without hopples, he cruised in a qualifier at Northfield Park, which could transpose into a sharp performance against stakes company, which he tackled often last year.

Also on May 19 at Mohawk, three filly trotters looking at August race in an Ontario SBOA mile. They are Smoke And Mirrors, Miss Mimi and Apprentice M. Of the trio, Smoke And Mirrors looked best at two and should return with definite intentions of getting to the Oaks. You can judge the value for yourself among the three.

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Follow Hambletonian Trail action from in this blog on Twitter #Hambo18 and @FrankCotolo in cooperation with the Hambletonian Society.