Sun Stakes At Pocono Beam With Talent; Cleveland Classic Has Killer Crew; Grand Circuit Pro-Active

Herds from the top divisions go trotting and pacing this weekend and we get involved with the best—in stakes—and also the most modest—overnights. As well, trot-colt sophs join pacing divisions with lucrative miles on Sun Stakes Night at Pocono in the Earl Beal Jr. Final, covered in our Hambletonian Trail blog. And there are soph-pacing boys corralled in New York Sires Stakes (NYSS). Add to that another leg for the Graduates, a classic trot in Cleveland and Grand Circuit professionals and it is time to dip into the Twinspires betting bankroll (see all the offers available on the website). The modest events can pay as handsomely as the stakes, so check with the TwinSpires horses-to-watch (H2W) list for horses that may increase your tickets’ worth in any type of bet you make. Do your own handicapping and then consider our H2W selections. EMPIRE STAKES Glamour-boy pacers bred in the state are up for big purse-pickin’ in NYSS at Yonkers on June 27. The two miles are worth $83,750 each. Seven start at the gate for both acts. The three inside posts present the heat and will attract most of the money for the win pool. We will go with the one leaving to all of their right, Marcus Melander’s Buddy Hill. He will have as much chance to win as those offering less with two for four finishes on the board, coming from a flourishing barn. In a field of lessening forward motion, how is it that Reigning Deo has made so much in five starts without a win and it took a dozen starts to get three into the win column for Stone Hanover? Maybe the answer is Brett Pelling, who trains Reigning Deo and has kept him making money in those five starts, three of them close to getting into the winner’s circle. We will take Reigning Deo in this crew. GRAND ‘GEERS’ Soph-colt pacers, eight strong, line up for a $58,000 Tompkins-Geers division at Tioga on June 28. This is not a field presenting the best of the division but it is evenly matched. We lean to the outside where Cloudbreak cold bring a decent price against the obvious Seafarer, leaving to his left. A pair of soph-filly pacer divisions for $28,000-plus are also on the docket. Alii Nui returns for us, looking to offer a better price than her main rival, Abigail Dawn. We have backed them individually this season but here Alii Nui could do better and pay better. The second filly division brings back “Lynch” loser Rose Run Uptowngirl. The Ron Burke filly won’t fool any bettors who can read for class but she has so little to beat here that it is hard to look away. GRADUATES June 28 at the Meadowlands is the time and place for the fourth leg of the Graduate Series (four-year-olds) for the pacers. Two fields worth $50,000 each are on tap. In the first division, six pound the ground. Jimmy Freight has been busy cashing checks at four and has the largest bankroll in the field. He will be firing as early as possible for a good position, if not the lead, in the short field. However, on the other side of the lineup is Done Well, already a stakes winner and who seems to be Jimmy Freight’s toughest foe here. The busier four-year-olds are Backstreet Shadow, with a dozen starts this year, and Lyons Steel with 19 launches. The former should take the most money for his record, which is earning very well for trainer Scott Di Domenico. We like Backstreet Shadow for price and purpose. He fits well in this group and may be a valuable third choice if the crowd lays off the top two a bit. In the other Graduate division presents some of the better known ’18 sophs, including Courtly Choice and Thinkbig Dreambig. Two-time stakes longshot The Downtown Bus is one of the seven, as well. Shadow Cat is impressive to us. In 11 starts he has won five and placed once. Jennifer Bongiorno’s barn has been productive and leaving from the 7 hole may distract enough fans to make this a big overlay. CLEVELAND CLASSIC Eight top older trotters are in Ohio for Northland’s Cleveland Trotting Classic, an invitational worth $175,000, on June 29. All of these fellas have met one another before and shuffled wins among them. Still, the focus is Marion Marauder, looking to regain his profile in the division. Doing this at the Home of the Flying Turns against this group will take a full-out wire-to-wire mile, which is not likely against this group. On the coveted Northfield inside, Guardian Angel AS, who is glowing so far this season, has the best chance of a wiring mile if he can control the company he may keep with Emoticon Hanover. That speculation makes mult-scenarios plausible in this event. Fast fractions are not the problem, of course, it is the dueling, especially if it causes shuffles. Hopefully, this will be an active mile, with duels and shuffles, because then we can safely back Dayson. Post 7 will mean nothing if the fractions fracture around that fourth Flying Turn. Dayson can brush big or ease his way with live cover and glide late. We like that scenario for price and purpose. SUN STAKES 2019 Pocono Downs presents its annual Sun Stakes program on June 29. The earned fields for the track’s signature stakes and their consolations fill the evening with some of the sport’s top performers. Consolations’ analysis appear in context for their main events. JAMES LYNCH FINAL Treacherous Reign and Warrawee Ubeaut continue their battle for division dominance with a few possible upsets, major and minor, as sub-plots in this $300,000 event. On the minor side, there’s Zero Tolerance, who has been gnawing at the top two and can topple both sans surprise soon. On the major side, Philly Hanover will be overlooked from post 8 and due to the focus on the top three but a decent trip and a charge at tiring fraction-setters could shock the toteboard but good. The $50,000 consolation upset may be in the hands of Tom Fanning’s filly, Trillions Hanover. She comes from a good performance last week that on its own may be able to beat this field, led by Annie Hill. MAX HEMPT FINAL Glamour-boy pacers go for $500,000 in this stakes, which is missing some of the glamorous guys now headlining the division. Captain Victorious won an elim, surprising some, while Shake The House satisfied the chalk players in another elim. The latter should share favorite status with Proof, leaving room for Air Force Hanover to overthrow them. “Air Force” was aggressive last week and almost won an elim. Full of that kind of spunk, he is a strong contender that will offer a good price. The $75,000 consolation fields nine and is as wide open as they come. Tony Alagna’s Odds On Boca Raton will be highly respected in the betting, while another of the three he sends here, Major Deception, will not. He is our choice for price and purpose. BEN FRANKLIN FINAL For $500,000, older pacers continue to rattle one another. This season, so far, four-year-old Lather Up is rattling the others in the division. Including 2018 Horse of the Year, McWicked. However, he also has to deal with Western Fame in this field of dreamers. Western Fame could be the key to a speedy duel that hands the trophy over to McWicked because McWicked won’t duel this week—he will wait, brush big, and win at a great price—for McWicked. In the $75,000 consolation, Filibuster Hanover may have the best chance yet this season to improve and have some left over for another race. He was aggressive last week, which has not been his MO this season. Should the majority not agree with us, a good price will reward those right about him this time. GREAT NORTHEAST TROT The $75,000 Great Northeast Open Trot sends Hannelore Hanover fans to the windows, making for big lines for small prices. Will the fans take her over Rich And Miserable? Either way, Tight Lines, an outside contender that has been a good earner to date and has made it to this level impressively, is our choice. 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 Buffalo 6/29/19, Classic American N R1; Littlebitofabrat R5; Falcons Luke R5; Stonebridge Guard R 6; +Iluvyomakemoney R10 Charlottetown 6/29/19, +Top Of The Morning R3; +Twin B Shadow R12 Hawthorne 6/28/19, +Mobil Big John R11 Hoosier 6/27/19, Brigitte Bordeaux R5 6/28/19, Bourbon Chase R9; Upfront And Gone R11 Hiawatha 6/29/19, +Rasmus R9 Meadowlands 6/28/19, Seaside Bliss R5; Quite A Sight R8; +Magical Beliefs R9; +Forecast R12; Gothic Rock R13 Meadows 6/28/19, Royaltyhasarrived R4; Russell The Terror R6; Just Fly Beyona R12 Mohawk 6/27/19, Time Rolls On R10 Monticello 6/27/19, Gorgeous Partygirl R1; +Snoz R3; Fight The Truth R4; +The Saint R10 Northfield 6/29/19, Alishas Big Star R5; Pretty Sammie R6; Spended Party R13 Plainridge 6/27/19, Destination Moon N R10 6/28/19, +Mambo Lindy 5; +Order By Me R10 Pocono 6/29/19, Shoreview R7 7/1/19, In A Godda Davita R8 Running Aces 6/29/19, +Johnny Gun R4; +Peach Wave R5; Trump Train R6; Watchmeneighneigh R9 Saratoga 6/27/19, Dancin Daisy R5; +Frenzie R10; Tempus Seelster R10 Scarborough 6/27/19, +Drive ‘em Cowboy R7 6/30/19, Shuttletruth R5 Scioto 6/27/19, +Mi Nina Bonita R4 6/28/19, Mach The Rock R9 6/29/19, Drew The Dragon R3; +Pop Pop Joe R9 Tioga 6/30/19, Homecoming King R6; Bourbon Express R11 Vernon 6/28/19, Winding Hill R2; Gimmesomeroom R8; +Pudges Pastime R8 Yonkers 6/27/19, Surreal Art R1; Mrs Darcy R9 6/28/19, Surreal Feeling R10 7/1/19, American Vision R3