Harness Weekly Update: Stakes Season Continues

The TwinSpires Harness Blog Weekly Update covers our successes and failures from selected features and the H2W (horses-to-watch list, now including Hoosier spin-offs).

Thursday, Nov. 4

Thursday’s Mohawk Miles’ contenders included a co-favorite. Greystone Natali ($2.20) finished third, going off at 2-1. In the other result, Ricky Resolve (16-1) completed the superfecta, finishing fourth.

At Dover, the Matrons for juveniles welcomed back Venerable ($2.10, $2.10, $2.10) with a win in the filly trot division. The top filly broke in the Breeders Crown (along with the major amount of the win pool) but stayed smooth.

In the remaining trio of Matrons we finished third with Esplosione ($6.80), Frantasy Hanover ($6.40) and Nautical Hanover (n/s). Their proposed exotic partners, Hill Of Cash S (16-1), A Girl With Twirls (1-1) and Atlas Hanover (27-1) finished fifth, sixth-placed-fifth and fourth, respectively.

Friday, Nov. 5

At Hoosier, where the season’s end looms boldly, the four late-season stakes for sophomores were not very kind to us. We won only one of four, getting home favorite Swingforthefences ($3.20, $2.10, $2.10) in the colt trot.

Next best was Whichwaytothebeach ($2.80), third, who defied our low opinion of winner Bulldog Hanover.

Then, a 9-2 defeated Scarlett Hanover (3-1), who finished fourth in the filly pace, and a terrible first quarter wore down Katies Lucky Day (7-2), finishing 10th to a 6-1 winner in the filly trot.

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). 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 50 active horses (a 22% win hit rate and a 40% ATB [across-the-board] hit). Horses with asterisks before their names were tweets @FrankCotolo. Follow for late choices.

Winners

Redskittle, $35.40, $8.60, $3.40, Dayton
Runhappy Ten, $9.80, $3.60, $3.00, Meadowlands
Pray The Rosary, $9.20, $4.40, $3.10, Monticello
Woodside Emileah, $5.60, $2.80, $2.20, Hoosier
Debt Motivated, $5.20, $3.20, $2.60, Dayton
The Changing Moa, $4.20, $2.70, $2.60, Vernon
Uptown Callie, $4.20, $3.60, $2.80, Northfield
Brookdale Jessie, $4.10, $2.20, $2.10, Monticello
Bronze Over N, $3.60, $2.60, $2.20, Northfield
Aint He Special, $2.30, $2.10, $2.10, Flamboro

Seconds

Rickybobbynthehaus, $7.00, $5.00 (Exacta $30.60), Dover
Herrickroosevelt N, $9.00, $5.90, Yonkers
Tobasco, $8.80, $3.00, Plainridge
Major Action, $5.40, $2.80 (Exacta $11.40), Meadows
Katie Doodle Dandy, $4.60, $3.40, Hoosier
Typhoon Stride N, $4.20, $3.20, Meadowlands
Cinder Rock, $4.00, $2.40, Northfield
Vel Larry, $3.80, $3.00, Dayton
A Fancy Free, $2.80, $2.50, Yonkers

Third

Sweet Young Thing, $2.40, Meadows

NEWS & NOTES

Ake Svanstedt announced that after a short period of recuperating from an injury, 2021 Hambletonian champ Captain Corey had to be retired. The son of Googoo Gaagaa will stand stud in Pennsylvania at Hanover Farms. Captain Corey broke a bone in one of his hooves that sidelined his sophomore season and then it was revealed an additional injury—a crack formation undetected before—resulted in the decision to end his racing career.

When Running Aces closed its 2021 harness season with its Night of Champions on Sept. 18, driver Jacob Cutting had a driving grand slam on the program. The young Alberta reinsman made a strong impression at “Aces” coming off a stunning Cal-Expo meet where he debuted at 19 years old and challenged mainstay veterans. Already, Cutting has moved on and is an active horseman at Dover and Rosecroft. We will be watching him and his stock closely and expect great early returns.

Extraordinary Extras

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