Multiple Winners Trumped By $45 Place Horse

It was another remarkable across-the-board display of pay offs from a TwinSpires harness blog, including the highest price of the week coming from a place horse (which also took the highest show price). That headliner was from the features’ contenders, though the best prices on winners came from our popular horses-to-watch (H2W) list—see below.

TwinSpires Hambletonian Trail blog posted a winner on Thursday, June 4, with Katniss ($7.80, $2.90, $2.80) in a New York Sires Stakes (NYSS) at Saratoga for soph fillies. In another of three divisions we were third with Lind Land ($2.40), who lost to the race favorite, as did our other contender in the third split.

Friday’s action came from the, while all other action took place on Saturday, June 6. The Hambo hopefulls were hosted at the Meadows in Currier & Ives events on June 5 and we struck out with three filly trotters, one that broke and was eliminated and two finishing fourth. The public choices won two of the three splits.

As for the June 6 features, the big story was the second-place finish of Penji Hanover in a Somebeachsomewhere division at Mohawk. Going off at 64-1, our choice paid $45.00 to place and $19.60 to show. In the second division, Go Daddy Go ($4.40, $3.10) was second.

At the Meadowlands, four Graduate Series legs featuring four-year-old pacer and trotters gave us Sumatra ($2.20) in third, losing to race-favorite Shake It Cerry; Bushwacker ($3.40) third and Father Patrick ($2.10) finishing second to a ground-saving 6-1 JL Cruze who just got up a neck in time.

Colt pacers at the Meadows in a pair of state-bred splits were unkind to our selections, which went off at 60-1 and 29-1, respectively.

In the Charlie Hill Memorial at Scioto Downs, we warned of a trouncing by Bee A Magician ($2.20, $2.10, $2.10) and that is what happened, while our alternative, Lindys Tru Grit was next to last at 66-1.

Glamour-boy trotter Boot N Chains ($2.60) was third at the Meadows in a Currier & Ives split and at Vernon, NYSS presented Habitat ($3.00, $2.60, $2.40) with another win as we also nailed third with Apostles Creed ($5.40) in that race. In the other split we had second with Mythology Blue Chip ($4.20, $3.10).
 
All Hambletonian Trail race stories are archived at the Hambletonian Society website.
 
In between published harness blogs, follow @FrankCotolo and @TwinSpires on Twitter.

H2W LIST RESULTS

The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Also, exactas listed are included when a H2W horse finishes second with a race favorite or the first two finishers making up the exacta are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses were listed to complete the exacta). The note “ok” determines that prices published are correct even when a show price exceeds a place price or any or all of the prices are the same. This week, there were 49 active horses (an 14-percent win hit rate and a 45-percent in-the-money hit rate).

Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place and/or show results occurring after press time and that it is up to you to follow those horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Get Your Armor, $20.60, $9.40, $5.80, Northfield
Sew Psyched, $17.40, $7.80, $3.60, Meadows
Jesses Story, $12.00, $6.00, $4.00 (*Exacta $65.40), Meadows
Money Show, $10.20, $3.10, $2.10, Charlottetown
Boom Boom Shaboom, $5.40, $3.40, $2.60, Running Aces
Venus Delight, $4.20, $2.80, $2.60, Pocono
Ideal Cowboy, $2.20, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Yonkers

Seconds

Possessed Fashion, $17.40, $4,80, Pocono
Donns Letsgo, $9.80, $3.80, Running Aces
Tropical Trice, $7.60, $3.80, Plainridge
Magic Will Work, $6.20, $5.00 (*Exacta $65.40), Meadows
Deli Beach, $3.80, $2.60, Philadelphia
Uncle Ben, $3.00, $2.40 (Exacta $5.20), Bangor
 
Thirds

Insane In Spain, $9.30, Saratoga
Joe Hill, $4.00, Meadows
Jk Patriot, $3.60, Meadowlands
Maddoxs Spencer, $3.60, Running Aces
Beauty Of Nature, $3.50, Century
Goldengear, $2.60, Hoosier
They Call Me Gordy, $2.20, Hoosier
Fox Valley Norman, $2.10, Maywood
 
News & Notes

Every sophomore season starts with the tendency to focus on two-year-olds that have excelled, earned and impressed the year before. So, in the early months of a new soph season, bettors have little to go on but the reputations of former freshmen. Wagering on those reputations have little rewards when they are correct, and talent has followed the freshmen into the sophomore season right off the bat. However, when a bettor wagers using positive signs that a freshman is improving as a sophomore, the rewards are great. It isn’t always easy to spot improvement. A handicapper has to take some chances. Still, the risks are consistently profitable when the measure of a horse is correct. A big price is always offered before a horse truly proves itself; then everyone jumps on board and the odds plummet. It is essential to catch the improver early to get the best prices; beating the crowd is worth it because it pays off in dollars.

At this blog we take many chances on a new crop of sophomores and when we are correct about improving members of the division we profit greatly. We often look foolish in the eyes of other public handicappers but that is because we put profit and risk on the same scale and keep strong our goal—to profit at pari-mutuels, which we can only truly accomplish by having the courage to look beyond the obvious.

Congratulations to American Pharoah, who became the 12^th Triple Crown winner in thoroughbred racing history.

Most people outside the sport of harness racing and that includes some fans that have developed betting campaigns in the past two decades, are not aware of the pacing and trotting “Triple crowns.” Pacing’s Triple Crown (for three-year-old colts) includes The Little Brown, The Cane Pace and The Messenger Stakes. The Crown for trotters includes The Hambletonian, The Yonkers Trot and the Kentucky Futurity.

Due to the nature of the beast, standardbreds have to race more than just three races to get crowns because the races involved include or have included elimination races or same-day heats. Sometimes crown winners did not have to win all the races involved but other times horses that have earned crowns have won as many as eight events before they could make history. There is no argument that standardbreds are bigger, stronger horses than other equine breeds (no less are they more disciplined concerning how they must maintain their motion) but the demand on a standardbred to win a crown is far greater in comparison to the feat of a thoroughbred getting his crown—a demand of winning three races in a span of five weeks.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances.

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog

For Thom Pye cartoons, informative harness history and more, click here ~