‘Zweig’ Memorials Present Glamour Groups From Hambletonian And ‘Oaks’; Colts Gunning For Greenshoe Again

This is the launch of the 2019 Breeders Crown Countdown (BCC), the exclusive blog that coordinates with our weekly preview harness blog at TwinSpires.com and the Hambletonian Society to find great wagering opportunities for "Crown"-eligible horses and their foes. All 12 divisions will rotate and share space in the BCC as they race to the finals, this year at Woodbine/Mohawk on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. This season we also maintain lists of the top-five horses in each division, choosing to important races considering division leaders most likely to make it to the elims at this season. The Dr. Harry Zweigs are traditionally the next meeting place for the Hambletonian and “Oaks” contestants. They take place this year at Vernon on Aug. 17. The “Zweig” for the fillies is worth $135,000 and it features nine familiar fillies from the glamour-girl soph-trotting division. Missing from the field is the Oaks winner, When Dovescry, and others from the final’s field (Queen Of Trixs, Asiago, Sweet Chapter, Millies Possesion, Southwind Cash and Princess Deo). Evident Beauty, one of the favorites of the division coming into the Oaks elims, faces fillies she has beaten during her better performances. Remember? She lost the Oaks elim by a hair and had a terrible time in the final, finishing clear of all the major action. She need not return to her best stride to win this, because in essence she is better than the rest. The crowd may not see it that way, which is a good sign for getting one of the best prices available to Evident Beauty yet. There is a Zweig consolation for the gals worth $35,000. Briefly, we return to our support for Cloud Nine Fashion, especially since the “hot” horse for bettors may still be Beautiful Sin. The $330,000 Zweig for the colts offers nine. The Hambo winner, Forbidden Trade, is not here. He went back to Canada and won a province final, but his nemesis, Greenshoe, is ready to accept the bulk of backing from the public. He owes them, for sure, and with Gimpanzee missing in action here, Greenshoe has only to be sure Marseille (the only colt other than Forbidden Trade to defeat him this year) does not try to “steal” this event. It is not hard to predict that Ake Svanstedt will indeed put Marseille on a similar path as he trod in the Earl Beale at Pocono and make Greenshoe chase him to the final hoof beats of the mile. Ake will be driving Marseille again, giving his other entry, Sheena’s Boy, over to Dexter Dunn. Making Greenshoe work for the victory may help Sheena’s Boy. It could also benefit Don’t Let’em, who needs to peak now else slide through the rest of the season making purse pieces. Marcus Melander has three more than Greenshoe here to complicate forecasts. Green Manalishi S won a Hambo elim but strained while losing the final. This being a single heat will make him a factor. Then there are Hatikah and Gerry. Together they sound like a Vaudeville act but on the track they still need to prove they can perform well enough to entertain a betting crowd. As the Greenshoe storybook reads so far, it is good to bet against him again, especially in a race where trips will make the decision. In that case, we could be comfortable settling on Don’t Let’em for an upset. *************************************** Follow major 2019 BC hopefuls on their journey to the Breeders Crown at Woodbine/Mohawk at this Breeders Crown Countdown blog and the TwinSpires harness blog weekly, along with further information on the Hambletonian Society web site and @Hambletonian_ and @BreedersCrown .