Jugette Tests A Dozen Soph-Filly Pacers; Buckette Tests Trotting Gals

At the Delaware, Ohio Fairgrounds Wednesday, Sept. 23, all eyes are upon the glamour-girl pacers. Twelve of them (nine eligible to the Breeders Crown [e]) contest two elimination heats to earn berths in the 2015 Jugette Final.

Each elim heat is worth $50,450 and the top four finishers in each return to the winner-take-all, eight-horse Jugette second heat (final) worth $151,350. Since we will not be privy to the second-heat contestants or post positions, we will only analyze the elims, where the best payoffs may be, anyway.

The first elim could offer a fine winning price, since the morning-line favorite, Southwind Roulette (e), has not won a race this season. She has collected almost half a million racing for checks against top fillies, however, and is the top earner of the six in the first field.

Though the field is small, we could be looking at a major bargain with Wicked Little Minx (e). She will be far better than her recent trio of top-stakes efforts (two have strong excuses) and certainly her win in the Miss New Jersey featured stronger foes than this. Also, Mosquito Blue Chip (e) cannot be dismissed; she may certainly be in the mix late and contribute to exotics.

The second elim matches obvious fillies to attract the public’s money with Band Of Angels (e) and Sassa Hanover (e). “Band” comes to Ohio after a big win in a New York Sires Stakes (NYSS) final, going from Yonkers’ half-mile to the Ohio half-mile and drawing well (post 3). This gives her a slight edge on “Sassa” (post 6). Sassa tanked in the Nadia Lobell last week, which is not a good sign for her commanding this mile.

We won’t overlook Bedroomconfessions, who defeated Band in the NYSS elim and has done well with this ilk over the summer. She may offer the best price here and in league with Band could form a healthy exacta.

On the same afternoon program in Ohio, the Buckette features two divisions for soph-filly trotters, each split worth $54,600.

Of course the most familiar in the first division is Jimmy Takter’s Smexi (e), who has been in and out of races with the division’s best and she is bound to get action. But this is a good spot for freshened Classical Annie (e), who leaves from post 2. This group of six flirted with fame with the Hambletonian Oaks crowd but none have truly excelled. “Annie” comes off a conditioned affair at the Meadows which has all the signs of having a wire-to-wire go of this one.

Division two also features bit players in the division’s major stakes this season. Two come from Takter’s team—Lilu Hanover (e) and Speak to me (e), one from Ron Burke’s second-string, and Julie Miller’s Lady Winona (e) who belongs in a group like this, having only been able to earn lesser checks in stakes against the top gals.

Then there is the rail horse, Jonas Czernyson’s Nunkeri. His jumping problems ruined two NYSS races for her but she qualified well for this and drawing the 1 hole with her early foot could be all she needs to get the best of this group. She won’t be gifted the engine all the way around; she will be challenged. That, however, may put her in a good suck-along spot to fire her best late, coming home with an upset but nothing near an upsetting price.

Follow major BC hopefuls on their road to the Breeders Crown at Woodbine at the Breeders Crown Countdown blog and the TwinSpires harness blog weekly, with archived reports on the results at the Hambletonian Society web site.