Harness Weekly Update: Double-digit winners, $50 exacta

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

Thursday, Aug. 18

This week’s Mohawk Miles selections presented a place finish for Speaktoyourmanager ($4.90, $3.60), completing a $19.30 exacta with the favorite winning. Our other contender, Wisk Key (5-1), broke stride and finished fifth.

Friday, Aug. 19

The horse pace, one of the two Scioto’s Grand Circuit (GC) invitationals, went to the public’s second choice with our pick, Workin Ona Mystery ($2.80, $2.20), finishing second. The mare pace was a cinch for Test Of Faith, while our plan to upset her went south, finishing eighth with No Win No Feed A (59-1).

Saturday, Aug. 20

Sun Stakes Saturday at Pocono was kind to the crowd. Of the top four GC events, we won only when going along with the public, cashing on Temporal Hanover ($3.80, $2.60, $2.20). We almost upset in the colt trot but our longshot choice, Layton Hanover ($7.80), was outpaced for first and second late in the stretch, while Mad Max Hanover (12-1) was not up to snuff, finishing eighth.

The other two events came up empty. In the soph-filly pace a 10-1 won, defeating our Wickedly Innocent (15-1), and there was no major motion from Baptism (25-1), finishing fifth.

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 form a cold exotic combo; most base prices are $2). 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 39 H2W horses (18% win-hit rate and a 38% ATB [across-the-board] hit). Horses with asterisks before their names were tweets @FrankCotolo. Follow for late choices.

Winners

Striking Ensign, $26.00, $6.70, $3.80, Vernon
Swipe Right, $17.40, $8.60, $9.40 OK, Meadows
Curadh, $13.00, $6.80, $5.20, Pocono
Selfie Queen, $11.60, $9.00, $5.50, Red Mile
All Heart I Am, $7.90, n/a, n/a, Vernon
A Little Rusty, $6.40, $3.60, $2.80, Running Aces
Late Night Date A, $2.80, $2.40, $2.20, Hawthorne

Seconds

Saratoga Blue Chip, $13.60, $5.20 (Exacta $50.50), Yonkers
Miki The Clown, $3.40, $2.10, Meadows
Pebbles De Vie, $3.40, $3.00 (Exacta $12.80), Hawthorne

Thirds

Tinos Pulse, $6.60, Monticello
Bare My Soul, $5.00, Red Mile
Caviart Camden, $4.20, Red Mile
Mambacita, $2.10, Red Mile
Marloe Hanover, $2.10, Scioto

NEWS & NOTES

The Grand Circuit (GC) season rolls forward as August glides into September, and all of our features plus the H2W will be on board. Next week Mohawk offers events including the William Wellwood and Peaceful Way finals for frosh trotters, the Nassagaweya for frosh pacers, the Eternal Camnation for frosh-filly pacers, the Casual Breeze for soph-filly trotters, and elims in the Maple Leaf Trot and the Canadian Pacing Derby for older trotters and pacers, respectively.

On the GC scoreboard, the trainer standings thus far are not unpredictable. Ron Burke leads, followed by Tony Alagna, Ake Svanstedt, Richard “Nifty” Norman and Brett Pelling, but we continue to take note of the win-percentage leaders as the season reaches its 2022 destination in Canada for the Breeders Crown.

The Meadowlands returns to live racing on Sept. 1. The first two weeks of the meet have a Thursday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with the third week racing on Friday and Saturday only. Also in New Jersey, Freehold Raceway’s 38-day summer/fall meet begins Aug. 26. Racing will be held every Friday and Saturday through Dec. 31.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in our column Alternative Actions at Harness Racing Update.