Mohawk Stakes Finals Pit Division Stars For Top Dollars; Metro And ‘Great Lady’ Elims Offer More Frosh Action

 

In this blog for our betting weekend starting Thursday, Sept. 13 we address a host of big events. Make note that this is the weekend before we focus on Little Brown Jug (LBJ) where weekday racing becomes the focus (racing begins there on Sunday, Sept. 16). Our coverage of races on LBJ week at the Delaware, Ohio fair, will include weekday coverage. So refer to the TwinSpires blog section for updates before you connect with your account to wager on LBJ events.

Our Breeders Crown Countdown (BBC) blog this week offers good betting opportunities for races involving three hot divisions filled with “Crown” eligible battlers. Check it before you wager on the six races covered from Saratoga, Yonkers and Mohawk.

And everywhere we cover harness racing you will find “live” bet possibilities on our horses-to-watch list (H2W). Explore any and all of the possibilities we present for use in wagers of your discretion. Do your own handicapping and then consider any and all our H2W and frosh selections.

HOOSIER HEROES

Indiana Sires Stakes (INSS) finals continue to be strewn across many Hoosier Park programs. We find a $75,000 conclusion for frosh-colt pacers on the Sept. 13 program, featuring 10 of the top boys in the INSS division.

Tellmeaboutit is the Alvin Miller-trained success story with five wins from nine starts. His sire (Tellitlikeitis) has been a giant in the state and sends five of his sons to this level. We have seen and scored with his progeny, including Miller’s colt and others in this field, during our Freshman Focus series, so we can tell you this is a close match among family members.

The lone product of Always A Virgin is Always A Vavoom, who we doubt will be ignored by the public but still may be worth the price as a second or third favorite.

GRAND FINALES PLUS

Heading into the traditional Little Brown Jug week in Ohio, Grand Circuit action is winding down at Mohawk on Saturday, Sept. 15, with stakes finals and elims for multi divisions.

METRO ELIMS

The Sept. 15 program begins with two $40,000 Metro Pace elims for the frosh colts. These are usually good betting races and bring to light some upstarts for next season’s glamour boys.

In the first elim, Casie Coleman’s Stag Party is having a good first season and that is no secret. Among this crew, the lighter of the two elims, the Bettors Delight colt should race very well, getting into the final. Cruise Captain, the long Captaintreacherous colt, may also be among the short prices. Sitting amid the field is Buddy Hill, one we think has a better chance than his odds will reflect.

The second elim should belong to Captain Ahab, who has only to race anywhere near what he has been doing for trainer Tony Alagna. Will anyone bet any other colt in this field? Seriously? All we can hope for in any form of an upset (and in exotics with “Ahab”) is Lyons Night Hawk, who has shown some talent worth improving upon.

GREAT ELIMS

The frosh-filly pacer version of the Metro is the She’s A Great Lady. Two elims with a lot of fillies go for $35,000 each.

A few from the highest earnings list are here, including the number-one earner of freshmen, Queen Of The Pride. She is getting far more attention than when we touted her in our “Frolic” section and that takes her odds into underlay territory. Treacherous Reign, another of Alagna’s Captaintreacherous kids, will get support, too, and it would be no surprise if she won. Burke’s better of his two here is Sylph Hanover, who could be tough on the aforementioned. An outside worth the chance for a bigger price is Money Shot Hanover. She may be sent off more than a fair price against this crew.

The second elim also includes some fillies with big bankrolls and the usual suspects training them. Alagna has two here and they will fire. Burke has one and she has been strong on the BCC Top Fives list. Odds On St Lucie, another Frolic find of ours, will be noticed and supported and Quebec Blue Chip is bound to attract money. Alagna’s other entry is Tall Drink Hanover, who may be overlooked enough to play the race looking for a price that comes from talent. She could win this.

THE FILLY WAY

Frosh-filly trotters contest in the $385,000 Peaceful Way, where The Ice Dutchess enters as the probable favorite off an easy victory in her elimination. Also exiting that race are two potential longshots that stand decent chances at uprooting the favorite; the first being Evident Beauty. A lightly raced trotter from the Nifty Norman barn, she has demonstrated improvement with each of her few outings and a second in the elimination signals that she might be ready for a major dance.

Presto Change O displayed a sharp turn of foot to finish third to The Ice Dutchess, albeit with a smooth rail trip. She draws the rail in this elim and, assuming a similar setup develops, she can trot home swiftly and maybe get in front at the wire.

WILLIAM WELLWOOD

Green Manalishi S leads the field of freshman colts gathered for the $400,000 William Wellwood Memorial. Cruising to a 5-length victory in his elimination, the Marcus Melander trainee appears a clear standout here and, as such, should take a pounding by the public’s dollar hammer. But the quandary of this race revolves around whether or not there exists value with such a potentially dominating force present.

For one, Swandre The Giant could bounce off his second-place finish as the favorite in his elimination as he makes his second start for Jimmy Takter. Although these circumstances could also garner him more support at the betting windows, discretion is important when considering him a value wager.

Okeanos, perhaps the underground contender from the eliminations, finished strongly to get fourth in the elimination where Union Forces upset off a perfect-pocket setup. He’s another who should benefit tremendously from the inside draw as his lack of gate speed in tandem with his surplus of late speed should make post 2 a perfect fit for him.

ELEGANT IMAGES

The big three sophomore trotting fillies meet in the $340,000 Elegantimage Final. Phaetosive, Manchego and Atlanta compete with each other and four others to make it interesting.

While Manchego showed her dominance over Atlanta in their last encounter, Phaetosive returns to the top-class scene off a win in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes Championship and also has the best draw of the three. She has the power and the ability to win. However, with these fillies, sharing headlines all season, the best mile among them comes down to trips.

CANADIAN HAMBO

Here they go again, the Hambletonian Trail troupe but sans the filly.

Mets Hall continues his trek to the top of the sophomore colt roster as he fronts the field for the $665,000 Canadian Trotting Classic. The Millers’ colt has developed one of the division’s best resumes since August, including finishing second in the Hambletonian and posting commanding victories in the Zweig Memorial and the Simcoe.

Mets Hall certainly deserves favoritism and appears one to beat. However, as he showed earlier this year in the Goodtimes, Run Director has a ton of ability, specifically over this track.

Run Director enters this lucrative final (there were no elims) off a last-to-second effort in the Simcoe and draws well enough in this Canadian Trotting Classic where, if the speed is fast to fight for the front, it could set up for his late kick to propel him to victory.


H2W Legend

Review our choices and follow the wagering at the prescribed track. These are possible contenders we have judged from reviewing races. The horses’ names are listed beneath the name of the track after the date they will be racing. The race in which they are entered (R and race number) follows. If a + is in front of a horse’s name it means it is appearing on the list for the second (and last) time because it failed to win the first time it appeared. An “ae” signals the horse is entered on the also-eligible list. If a horse is listed twice, refer to the entries on the night of the race since a horse may enter in more than one race. Types of wagering on any of the H2W listed horses are based on your judgment. If you have any questions, email us at TwinSpires.

H2W LIST

Batavia
9/15/18, Gimme The Pacifics R2; Well Well Well R5

Freehold
9/14/18, Julios Girl R6; The Light In Me R8
9/15/18, +Al Stienam R2

Dayton
9/15/18, TM Top Gun R3; JK Onaroll R6; Just Bettor R8; Hard Cold Cash R10

Hawthorne
9/13/18 +Youmakemyheartsing R4

Hoosier
9/13/18, +Guccios Big Star R9

Meadows
9/15/18, +Run Rose Reanna R1; PH Kenny R13

Mohawk
9/13/18, +Delilah Seelster R3
9/15/18, American Wiggle R9

Monticello
9/13/18, +Roy E Lizbin R2

Northfield
9/15/18, +Lucille Amarono R8

Northville
9/14/18, Power Stick R2; SSTys Aflyin R4; Precious Twilight R7

Philly
9/13/18, Cool Cates R14
9/16/18, Friendsforever R10

Plainridge
9/13/18, Betterlatethnnever R4; Beachchip Hanover R5

Pocono
9/15/18, Adrian Hanover R3; Blue Swan R7; +Silvermass Volo R9

Red Mile
9/15/18, +Suddenly Royal R6
9/16/18, Captain Cash R2; +Dark As A Pocket R5; Tactical Landing R9’ +Grand Teton R10

Running Aces
9/15/18, A Bay Bay R1; SB Fine And Dandy R3; Tiyaga R4; Trinityfancyfilly R6

Saratoga
9/13/18, Loyalty Hanover R11; Royalpine Princess R12
9/14/18, Bazaar Bazaar R9; +Natural Disaster R10

Tioga
9/14/18, +Metro Glide R7
9/15/18, +Ey Cowboy R6

Vernon
9/15/18, Superman Hanover R1

Yonkers
9/13/18, +Bettor Believe It R8; Midnight Express S R9
9/15/18, +Dream Of Luck R5; +Will Take Charge R6