Harness Weekly Update: $26 winner at Mohawk

The TwinSpires Harness Blog Weekly Update covers our successes and failures from selected features and the H2W (horses-to-watch list). H2W horses through the following Monday appear in the next Update’s results.

Thursday, Mar. 10

Both of this week’s Mohawk Miles contenders won. The first brought a big price. Afair Somewhere ($26.50, $8.70, $4.50) shocked the crowd, while Baywatching ($4.60, $2.90, $2.90 OK) rewarded them.

In the Mohawk feature, the Ontario Girls Series Final, Just Daisy ($4.10, $2.30, $2.10) raced as well as we expected and paid what we thought she would. Trying to pump a decent exacta from it with Share The Moment (28-1) did not work when that one finished seventh.

Friday, Mar. 11

Cal-Expo’s sires stakes for mare pacers was a cold $5.40 exacta hit for us with a winner, Senga Nightmare ($3.40, $2.10, $2.10 OK) followed home by Tartan Patch ($2.40, $2.10).

At Hawthorne, Keene William ($2.80, $2.10, $2.10) continued our features’ chalk parade. Frontier Metis (6-1) finished seventh, and Big Beach scratched.

Saturday, Mar. 12

Northville opened and it was a good Daily Double and Parlay, but not with our longshots. Instead, a 5-1 beat our choice, Nox (18-1), and an 18-1 beat our choice, Sierras Spirit (39-1), those finishing seventh and fourth respectively.

H2W LIST RESULTS

The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Exactas listed include a H2W horse finishing second to a race-favorite or if the first two finishers are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses are listed—a cold exacta; most prices are for $2 exactas). The note “OK” determines that prices are correct (even when a show price exceeds a place price or all prices are the same).

Please note that some results reflect horses racing after the blog posts (they appear the following week).

This week, there were 41 H2W horses (a 12% win-hit rate and a 32% ATB [across-the-board] hit). Horses with asterisks before their names were tweets @FrankCotolo. Follow for late choices.

Winners

Fox Valley Sknyrd, $6.30, $4.60, $3.60, Monticello
Wickenburgh, $5.90, $3.90, $2.90, Mohawk
Machbook Pro, $5.60, $3.40, $2.40, Northville
Feeling Like A Ten, $5,00, $3.20, $2.40, Hawthorne
He’zzz A Wise Sky, $5.00, $3.20, $3.00, Miami

Seconds

Wildfire Flasher, $19.60, $7.60 (Exacta $63.00), Meadows
Native Ideal, $5.00, $2.60 (Exacta $15.80), Freehold
*Rockin Megan L, $4.80, $3.20 (Exacta $24.80), Northville
Bobcat Bay, $4.40, $3.40 (Exacta $17.40), Meadowlands
Alilthundadownunda, $3.20, $3.00 (Exacta $10.40), Cal Expo

Thirds

Rockinwiththebest, $6.80, Freehold
Captain Dolmio N, $3.80, Miami
Meadowbranch Ricky, $2.10, Meadowlands

NEWS & NOTES

The Meadowlands has processed horses nominated to the track's 2022 stakes program. The Championship Meet kicks off on Friday, May 6, with the first leg of the Miss Versatility followed by the first leg of the Graduate Series for horses and geldings on Saturday, May 7. The signature $700k Meadowlands Pace draws 42 eligible horses, among them Monte Miki, while its companion filly stakes, the Mistletoe Shalee, features Niki Hill.

The Pepsi North America Cup for soph pacers received 61 nominations. The list includes Monte Miki, Betterhavemymoney, and the sires stakes champions from Ontario (Bob Loblaw), Kentucky (Pebble Beach), Pennsylvania (True Blue Lindy), Ohio (Gulf Shores) and Indiana (Dalby Hanover). The NA Cup is presented on June 18 at Woodbine Mohawk Park; eliminations take place on Saturday, June 11.

The 2022 harness racing season at Running Aces looms boldly. This is the 15th season at the Minnesota five-eighths-mile track and it promises to be its best with 56 nights of racing on tap. There is a record purse structure in place and more than $230,000 in Late Closing events available to horsemen.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in our columns, Alternative Actions and Bettors Banquet, at Harness Racing Update.