Scores In Mohawk Features Include Upsets At $11, $10 While Favorites Win Most; H2W Exacta Partners A-Plenty As 49 Percent Hit The Board

 

The major feature action on Sept. 14 at Mohawk resulted in a few decent prices for our contenders, decent considering the strength of public opinion on the stakes-laden program. The horses-to-watch list (H2W) delivered a lot of exactas with favorites and soared with in-the-money activity.

Here’s how all of our features played out:

Thursday, Sept. 13

At Hoosier, in a sires-stakes final, an 8-1 shot beat our contender, Always A Vavoom (34-1) with four horses in-between them.

Saturday, Sept. 15

Another huge stakes program from Mohawk brought out the best in the public choices. The evening began with Metro Pace elims, both of which went to the utmost obvious of choices on paper, backed well by the public.

In the first elim, we thought if it were possible to beat the dead-on favorite then that winner could be Buddy Hill (44-1). Instead, Stag Party ($3.90, $2.50, $2.20) won and our choice finished fifth.

In the second Metro elim, we were as sure as everyone that the favorite would continue his winning streak and that is what happened to Captain Ahab ($2.50, $2.10, $2.10). Our suggested exotic partner, Lyons Night Hawk (29-1), finished fourth.

Another crowd-pleaser, Ice Dutchess, scored over our contender, though we finished second with Evident Beauty ($4.60, $4.20) and completed the exactor worth $15.90, in the Peaceful Way Final.

The Canadian Trotting Classic went the way of most super performers as the favorites finished two-one, with Crystal Fashion beating Mets Hall, while our hope for an upset by Run Director (11-1) was done in as he finished sixth.

There were two upsets we were happy to have backed. Foremost, we were cashed with a whopper as we had Phaetosive ($11.30, $3.30, $2.10) over Manchego and Atlanta in the Elegantimage Final. Then, in one of the Shes A Great Lady elims we delivered Tall Drink Hanover ($10.90, $5.50, $3.50).

We lost the second “Lady” elim to a 10-1 shot, as we finished sixth with Money Shot Hanover (27-1).


BREEDERS CROWN COUNTDOWN

Thursday, Sept. 13, a pair of New York Sires Stakes (NYSS) for frosh-filly trotters was won by the crowd favorites. In the first split we were fourth with ineligible “Crown” entry Sensibility (25-1) and in the second we were fifth with eligible Safe Word (10-1).

Friday, Sept 14, favorites also scored in the Yonkers duo of NYSS for frosh-colt trotters. We finished third (no show betting) in the first round with Brady Bunch (5-2) and our second contender, Chapter Fashion (5-1) broke and galloped to the finish. Both of our choices are eligible to the Crown.

At Woodbine on Friday, we won the first Milton elimination with the public’s second choice, Tequila Monday ($5.10, $3.40, $2.10) and we lost to the public choice in the other elim with Kendall Seelster (3-1), who finished fifth.


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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 51 active horses (a 12-percent win hit rate and a 49-percent ATB [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

Winners

PH Kenny, $10.20, $5.80, $3.60, Meadows
Roy E Lizbin, $7.50, $3.50, $2.90, Monticello
O’s Cruise, $4.80, $3.40, $2.20, Harrington
French Moni, $4.60, $2.60, $2.20, Plainridge
Hey Blondie, $3.20, $2.20, $2.10, Philly
Will Take Charge, $3.20, n/p, n/s, Yonkers
 
Seconds

SS Tys Aflyin, $14.00, $6.80, Northville
Cartoonist, $6.40, $4.00, Plainridge
Darn Tootin Hanover, $5.40, $4.00, Meadows
A Bay Bay, $5.00, $2.40 (Exacta $8.80), Running Aces
Julios Girl, $4.60, $3.40 (Exacta $15.60), Freehold
Doc Semalu, $3.60, $3.00 (Exacta, $8.60), Harrington
Texaco Man, $3.40, $2.80 (Exacta $12.60), Plainridge
JK Wildfire, $3.20, $2.20 (Exacta $4.20), Philly
Silvermass Volo, $3.20, $3.40 ok (Exacta $11.80), Pocono
Macadoodledo, $3.00, $2.20, Philly
Just Bettor, $2.40, $2.20, Dayton
Suddenly Royal, $2.40, $2.20 (Exacta $4.40), Red Mile
Royalpine Princess, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Saratoga

Thirds

Dream Of Luck, $8.90, Yonkers
All Stienam, $6.40, Freehold
Beachchip Hanover, $4.80, Plainridge
Lucille Amarono, $2.80, Northfield
Trinityfancyfilly, $2.40, Running Aces
Youmakemyheartsing, $2.20, Hawthorne


News & Notes

Gimpanzee is a son of Chapter Seven. At two, he has yet to lose a race and as one of the favorites our H2W choices just cannot upset, the Marcus Melander-trained colt won again over the weekend, this time in a NYSS split. Gimpanzee has won six starts by a total of 23 ¼ lengths but due to his racing schedule he has not met the likes of our Crown top fives list. Gimpanzee doesn’t need us to boost him into the Crown elims; chances are good he will be there, listed by us or not.

You can easily do the math we usually present about drivers’ streaks when it comes to Jody Jamieson’s five-win night at Mohawk on Sept. 13. Jody raced eight times in the 11-race program. His five winners paid $37.60. Playing Jody’s drives in every race he drove, strictly due to the fact that he was the pilot, cost $22.00. Jody made the grade that evening as a flat-bet profit. Mathematically, Jody is doing far better than 2017. He has 170 wins this year, compared to last season, which resulted in a total of 170 wins.

Due to our deadlines for posting and Harrington’s weekly racing schedule, we failed to address the track’s Monday, Sept. 17 feature, the $150,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial Pace. It features the stalwart older pacing crew, familiar except for one local. Bit Of A Legend N could have shown up on the H2W list but did not due to our conflicting deadlines. We ask you to make note of that when you read this Weekly Update, because the morning-line-maker has assigned Bit Of A Legend N odds of 15-1. That is a verified overlay.

Kentuckiana Farms announces the retirement of the productive sire, Yankee Glide from active stud duty. The Valley Victory product was prolific on the track as well as in the shedrow. At two, he swepte the Peter Haughton Memorial and at three he won the Zweig  and a Hambletonian elim amid a great sophomore crop. He made a better impression on the sport as a sire, placing at the top of all stallion categories throughout his career. To date, his offspring have earned $93,463,131 and have averaged over $89,000 per starter. He produced nine millionaires including Glidemaster and Manofmanymissions. As well, he was a prolific broodmare sire, with his daughters producing Market Share, Shake It Cerry and Lifetime Pursuit among them.

With “Jug” week approaching (we will cover Monday through Thursday), here is our last Top 10 contenders list. The first five are those on our BCC Top Fives list in the soph-colt pace category: Courtly Choice, Stay Hungry, Lather Up (if he enters), American History and Jimmy Freight (if he enters). We add three that are eligible now, in case there are no supplements—Wes Delight, Macadoodledo and Hitman Hill. Watch this blog during the week for our usual “value-plus picks” that have a strong history of hitting the board as winners and exotic partners.
 
 
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