Overnight Profits With $28 Running Aces Action; Hambo Hit $18; ‘Darlin’ Of Filly Pacers Packin’ Heat

It was a chalk-cloudy week for the most part but we managed to get some value in a few low win prices while picking up solid place and show prices with losers from the horses-to-watch (H2W) list.

Friday, June 10 began the two-day stakes roundup at Mohawk. Aside from the glamour-boy trotters (see Hambletonian Trail results below), the Open elims for the Armbro Flight had good and bad results. In the first elim we had two of the three finishers in the triactor, as the heavy favorite won and our choices filled the exotic combo. Second was our second choice, Rockin With Dewey ($10.70, $4.60) and third was our first choice, Shake It Cerry ($2.90) for a triactor worth $134.70.

In the second elim, My Happiness EP (42-1) broke stride and finished sixth behind our second choice, Barn Doll (9-5) who just raced poorly. The public’s second choice took the top check.

Saturday, June 11 saw our strongest continuing winning choice, filly-pacer Darlinonthebeach ($3.50, $2.40, $2.20) take no prisoners and fool no bettors about her superiority in one of the Fan Hanover elims. We tried to pair her with a longshot for an exacta but Party In Rome (91-1) finished sixth.

Surprisingly, the public’s second choice, at 3-1, beat top-choice Pure Country ($2.10, $2.10 ok) in the other elim and we had the third finisher, Mayhem Seelster ($2.40).

Nothing went our way looking for bargains in the trio of Roses Are Red elims. Second and third public choices took the three miles, where we finished sixth with Storm Point (39-1), fifth with Our Hot Majorette (7-1) and sixth with Bettor Be Steppin (77-1).

We lost the Meadows Maturity to a favorite at the Meadows with Magic Shelley (15-1), finishing fourth. And just west of the Meadows, at Scioto, we finished third in the Charlie Hill Memorial with Flanagan Memory ($7.40).

The North America Cup elims were both dominated by public favorites, though the second choice beat our first choice, Control The Moment (6-5), who finished a surprising fourth. In round two we had American Passport (3-1) who was crushed by the public’s top choice.
 
The Graduates’ legs at Tioga on Sunday, June 12 were again worth $75,000 each. We supposed the obvious would happen, which it did, warning that a win and exacta would consume the wagering. Wiggle It Jiggleit won and his probable better foe, In The Arsenal would challenge. But the latter did not challenge strongly enough to cause a debilitating duel. Instead, he took second from off the pace. There was no excuse for our choice to take advantage of fiery fractions, so Shades Of Bay (77-1) finished 11^th of 11.

The Graduate trot didn’t go to a favorite but it also did not go to our choice for an upset, Wings Of Royalty (28-1), who made it onto the purse grid, finishing fifth in the sextet of finishers separated by only 1 ½ lengths.

On various Wednesday nights we tweet for TwinSpires Twitter members from @FrankCotolo –retweeted by @twinspires—and the raceway involved. Losers from each week will appear on the next week’s horses-to-watch (H2W) list unless they race before that blog is published, so watch for them returning to the races on days in between blogs. Watch for special tweets from raceways on various Wednesdays.

HAMBLETONIAN TRAIL

One of the best strikes of the week came from a colt trot at Mohawk on June10. In one of the two Goodtimes elims we handed bettors a sharp winner with Dia Monde ($18.30, $8.00, $4.90). In the other elim we were off the board with Dominion Beach (17-1).

At Vernon on the same day we were second in an Empire Breeders Classic elim with Straight A Student ($5.70, $2.10) and then sixth with a breaker, Pampered Winner (15-1).

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 a cold 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 66 active horses (a 14-percent win hit rate and a 38-percent in-the-money hit rate).

Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place, show and exotic results occurring by press time but some horses race after the blog is posted (we list them the following week) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Kiss On The Lips, $28.80, $12.80, $8.40, Running Aces
Energy Shakes, $19.00, $5.40, $3.60, Tioga
Powerful Madison, $18.60, $4.60, $3.80, Rosecroft
Bruener, $13.00, $5.70, $3.40, Buffalo
Hostess Lisa, $12.40, $4.00, $4.00 ok, Harrington
Don Dorado, $4.80, $3.80, $3.00, Philadelphia
Arsenal, $4.20, $2.40, $2.40 ok, Philadelphia
Fall Bliss, $4.00, $3.40, $2.10, Bangor
National Seelster, $3.60, $2.40, $2.10, Philadelphia

Seconds

His Boy Elroy, $5.20, $3.40, Mohawk
First Of Itdkind, $3.80, $4.00 ok, Philadelphia
Dreams Beachboy, $3.40, $2.60, Pocono
Serious George, $3.40, $2.80, Buffalo
Kim Chee, $3.10, $3.70, Century
Artmagic, $2.80, $2.50 (Exacta $8.00)
Rafferty hanover, $2.40, $2.80 ok (Exacta $6.60), Scarborough

Thirds

Game Madison, $12.20, Scioto
Jeffers Party, $6.60, Philadelphia
Moon Landing, $5.60, Bangor
Outlaw Goodnready, $4.30, Century
Giddylicious, $4.00, Scarborough
Hailstorm Grace, $4.00, Buffalo
Jailhouse Lawyer, $3.60, Plainridge
Always Kenzer, $3.00, Hawthorne
One Way To Win, $2.20, Tioga

News & Notes

Yonkers returns from its mid-season hiatus Monday, June 13. There are five-programs per week (Mon/Thurs/Fri/Sat at 7:10 p.m., Tues at 1 p.m.). Monday’s return presents a Pick 5 carryover of $1,207.53 (50-cent base wager, races seven through 11).

Michigan was once a crowed ad prolific state for harness racing, housing the most harness racing facilities in one commonwealth, tied with New York. In modern times, not counting fairs, Michigan horsemen rested their tack at Hazel, Sports Creek, Saginaw, Northville and Jackson). Today, only Northville and Hazel survive, offering shorter meets than ever. More shocking is the fact that Northville Downs and Hazel Park are the only pari-mutuel tracks left in the state. So, legislation calling for changes to current monetary structures for “all Michigan racetracks” passed by the state Senate and goes to the governor for consideration. It’s difficult to believe that legislators will conspire to pass any bill that could save the two remaining tracks, no less bring back a healthy state for thoroughbred racing to return.

Two-year-old racing for the season launches with baby races and a slew of freshmen representing new and proven sires. At Mohawk alone, 115 babies adorned a 16-race qualifying program this past Friday. The pacing sires represented best were Mach Three and Sportswriter, the former with three winners and the latter with two. There were six other sires with one winner on the program. Four trotting sires tied with single victories, including the relatively unknown Victory Sam. Hambletonian-champs Muscle Hill and Deweycheatemnowe each had a winner and solid Canadian sire Kadabra also had one.

Across the border at the Meadowlands, there were four baby races on June 11. Each of the following sires were represented by a winner: If I Can Dream (pace), Somebeachsomewhere (pace), Break The Bank K (trot) and Cantab Hall (trot). As freshmen being entering pari-mutuel/stakes races, we will exclusively report on the progress of their sires, as bloodline statistics can lead to specific trends for bettors to follow, especially considering first crops. 

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 ~