Sires Stakes Stampede; Gold Cup & Saucer Serves Pacers; Tioga’s Setting For Speed Show On Sunday

Amid a summer that continues to scorch and soak North America, a busy schedule of harness racing ensues this weekend. A host of sophomore and aged events cover the features. Our weekly addendum, TwinSpires’ horses-to-watch (H2W) list fills in the gaps with a cast of candidates for all types wagers. Do your own handicapping and then consider our H2W selections. INDIANA HOMIES Indiana Sires Stakes (INSS) action continues on Aug. 15 for soph-colt trotters with a pair of races on the program. The first split ($48,000) brings back the two failed Hambo eligible colts, Lite Years Away and Sign Here N Here. It’s a stretch putting them up against It’s A Herbie, who is leading the division for Verlin Yoder. Only the latter, Sign Here N Here has a true shot at “Herbie” and should be in the mix, if not an upset winner. There is nothing you can say about the $47.500 INSS—Swandre The Giant is the Hambo bet-back. Even though he did not make the final, he is back here he belongs and among these he is the best. KENTUCKY GLAM-BOYS Three-year-old colt pacers go for $30,000 in each of four Kentucky Sires Stakes (KYSS) divisions at The Red Mile on Aug. 15. Dancin Lou is doing best among these but Skip To My Lou follows closely and may be the better choice considering the crowd will stay with the top earner. Third in line is our shot at a price—Can’t Beach That. Next, Egomania is fastest and richest of seven, but Shipshape has not been out of the money and gets a spot here to cash a big check as one of Tony Alagna’s two entries. From the H2W, Magic Joe Lindy ships in from New York but should be considered only in the context of exotics with Bettor’s Wish the key. Then, in the KYSS left on the program, we like Alii Nui, who races better than his odds and can win in this group of 11 under those circumstances again. HOOSIER PACING BREDS Hoosier holds another Indiana Sires Stakes (INSS) leg for soph-colt pacers on Aug. 16. There are two divisions, each worth $50,000. Little Rocket Man and Jagger Rocks should both gain gamblers’ attentions because their performances in the INSS have put them atop the state’s division. Most will expect they will easily become exacta partners, but we expect nothing and demand everything else. That is why we are going with Rockin TJ. Jeff Cullipher’s colt has been in the thick of it with these types and done well enough to back shooting for a price against the obvious pair. In round two, Rockie Got Framed should take most of the win money, but he has more competition than most handicappers would care to admit. Tellmeaboutit will challenge, Ima Real Ladys Man and White Hair Rocks, too. Certainly another threat is our choice, Shamwow. He has been lightly raced compared to the others but his penchant for winning (he is four for five) is impressive and he may not have peaked yet. PA TROT-TRAIN Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) for two-year-old colt trotters features three fields in divisions worth $61,000 plus on Aug. 17 at the Meadows. Seven sons of either Muscle Hill or Father Patrick make up this field. So much for sire edges. These boys are apt to behave better or worse for no reason. The classiest on paper is Marcus Melander’s Rome Pays Off, with three times the next earner’s bankroll, though posting only one win. Nifty Norman’s pair of colts—Chestnut Hill and Amigo Volo—loom boldly as threats, both with two wins in three starts and every reason to improve. Julie Miller’s Big Oil, though, could steal this one from the Meadows rail and offer a good price to do so. The middle PASS also offers a field of seven, though a few different sires are represented. Worth some faith are the progeny of Sebastian K and there is one here that may slip through bettors’ vision considering his trainer, the less-than-known Katricia Adams. The colt is Roger Rabbit (by Sebastian K) and he is our choice. The third PASS is an easy bet-back for us. Worthy Of Honor. The only son of Cantab Hall in the bunch, another from Julie Miller, is the one to vote for an upset against the magnificent Real Cool Sam, as well as to use in the exotic blends. CUP & SAUCER MENU Charlottetown’s Guardian Gold Cup & Saucer Final features the top four from each trial. Our choice in the first tirial, Midway Island, won at 5-2, getting a perfect trip to beat the 1-1 public choice, Somewhere Fancy. There was a lot of noise in the first trial, as two pacers broke early, and that affected the favorite, as well as it did the show horse, Bettors Fire (8-1). The second trial found our choice, Lisburn, fourth at 26-1. The second trial winner beat the favorite, doing so even after gate trouble. Sir Pugsley just made the win at 15-1. Bettors Fire is the outsider worth a good look. His trip getting to the final was well earned from post 8 and in the final he will not get the attention he deserves. That is enough to fill our “saucer.” THE ART OF SHARTIN Tioga presents the $137,000 Artiscape, featuring four daring pacing mares—the only left in the division to take another shot as beating Shartin N. This appears to hardly be a contest after Shartin N’s recent displays of indestructibility, pacing with disregard for records and all mares lining up on either side of her to go any distance. She has only herself to beat and it most likely won’t be the Artiscape at Tioga on Aug. 18. JOE-ROLLIN’ PACERS Tioga also hosts the Roll With Joe Stakes on Aug. 18 for older male pacers. Only six are on tap, including McWicked. For the first race in a while, McWicked won’t face a field that includes Lather Up. Aside from Western Joe, there is little threat to McWicked. The pair will share the majority of the win bettors’ investments and exotics will offer laughable prices. EMPIRE STATES Two Empire Breeders Classics (EBC)—one for filly pacers and the other for colt pacers—also adorn the Aug. 18 Tioga program. The $232,700 EBC for the fillies has a field of nine unremarkable entries. The marquee filly is Joe Holloway’s Zero Tolerance, who bettors will tolerate with much more than zero dollars. Considering the tepid lot, a strong price on DD Delicious would be a fine shot at a price that will be inflated based on a poor reason—the driver. Lately, Matt Kakaley has been lacking winners and bettors are steering clear from him. That is a poor reason because there is no evidence that the skills of Matt Kakaley have disappeared. DD Delicious is the second-highest earner in the field and deserves respect. As we post this, Kakaley is listed as the driver for “DD” and Fool Me Again. Better judgment will have him choose DD, which could inflate the odds. If he chooses the other drive, we still like DD, but her odds could suffer if a popular driver gets the ride. The $238,200 EBC for the colts also offers nine that have not made much noise against the division’s best, nationally. Shake That House is the most prominent, fastest and the richest and will soak up wagers. Seven others could be argued as challengers but only one comes from the extraordinary Meadowlands program on the first Saturday in August. That colt is World On Edge. The final race on that program was a conditioned event apt to be ignored among the classy events leading to it. We suggest he will be in the mix and needs attention as an element in all exotics, as well as a shot to beat Shake That House. 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 8/16/19, +Jude Hall R3 8/17/19, Ali De Vie R2; +Beachy Dream R7; +Thisjetsabookin R8 Hawthorne 8/16/19, +Fox Valley Genimi R6 8/18/19, Walter White R3; +Financial Prospect R8 Hoosier 8/15/19, +Clever Character R4; Power Of Tell R6 8/16/19, +Gazing Star R11 Meadows 8/17/19, Sebastian U R7; Drop The Pilot R8; +This Is My Song R13 Monticello 8/15/19, +Northern Jack R12 Northfield 8/16/19, Lucille Amarone R8 8/17/19, +Anoche R5; Stay In Your Place R7; +Dash Point Hanover R9 8/19/19, Sir James R2 Ocean 8/15/19, +B’s Yankee R6 Philly 8/15/19, Il Sogno Dream R9 8/16/19, Chiplosive R8 Plainridge 8/16/19, +Itsallaboutmach R1; +Sancin Yin R9 Pocono 8/17/19, David The Saint R6; Highalator R10 8/18/19, +Deal The Cards R8 Red Mile 8/17/19, +Star Chaser R6 Running Aces 8/17/19, Nurse Nattie R5; Picket Hanover R6 Saratoga 8/16/19, Retro Blue Chip R7 Scarborough 8/17/19, +Southwind Rex R9 8/18/19, Hurrikane Bunny R6 Scioto 8/15/19, The Smidge R5 8/17/19, +Gone Again R3 Tioga 8/17/19, Gotta Pay To Play R7; +Ohoka Texas N R8 Vernon 8/15/19, Jokes Jet R8; Fox Valley Steffen R9 8/17/19, +Nitro Glistening R5 Yonkers 8/19/19, Reigning Deo R4; US Captain R11