Colt events top bill

Thursday, May 15 and Friday, May 16 finds fields of colt eligibles in splits of the the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) at Harrah’s Philadelphia and the season’s start of New Jersey Sires Stakes (NJSS) at the Meadowlands. At the Meadows on May 17, top-rated filly Shake It Cerry returns.


On May 15, in the first of three PASS splits, a trio of eligible colts gets in line against three with no “Trail” hopes. Returning for the fourth start of his soph campaign is Journey, the colt we feel may offer an edge in price with an improved performance. Journey has already won two of three, a better showing than his frosh season, and he enters the stakes ring with much potential. A good showing is expected as trainer Don Montagne aims this Donato Hanover product at glory in August.


The other two eligible colts, Outbust and Exodus Hanover, make their sophomore debuts, the latter a PASS winner on this surface at two as a huge choice.


Split two, worth $75,300, presents a quintet of colts with August dreams. One of our early successful discoveries from last season, Nuncio, is now in the Jimmy Takter barn at three and gets the buzz. He appears to be up against a very soft group but that doesn’t take into account possible improvements that one can only read between the lines.


We make Raise The Curtain, an eligible, a contender that may go under the radar. He raced well against Father Patrick, if we are to measure colts against Father Patrick at three, and he won his ’14 debut and was second next, both times at Woodbine.


As well, eligible Fashion Tagman has suffered some tough trips at Woodbine and will be overlooked here, possibly mores than “Curtain.” These two loom dangerous to Nuncio in this mile, if not through the season.


The third PASS division, also worth $75,300, presents one of our choices for a top earner this season, Don Dorado. He appears to have matured and to be ready to continue his late-season frosh rise to stardom. Something about his gait and general presence is strongly the same as his Hambo-winning sire and if that is an omen then Father Patrick may be in for some stiff competition heading for August. As for price, he may be worth a short price, especially if he blows the field away and a chance at the price he offers in this race begins to look humongous in the weeks to come. 

The Meadowlands brings colts together in two NJSS events. The fillies have a pair but only one is a betting race.


The first colt split is worth $21,500. It’s a contest that includes the earliest rivalry in the division with Dexter Cup-winner Sumata facing Trixton, who won over this surface impressively last week and is another in the Takter team on the Hambletonian Trail.
Add to the duo the seeming ascension of Odds On Amethyst (one of six colts by Muscle Hill, so any “sire factor” for handicapping purposes is moot), a threatening King City (though still a maiden) and a contentious Lightning Force and you have a perplexed evaluation chore. Where you would receive the best value wager is near impossible to predict but we will take the chance with Lightning Force, based on the gelding’s late-season form at two which could continue to improve.


The second $21,500 NJSS for colts offers Well Built a chance to stay on gait and begin a profitable soph season. Two of his four soph efforts found him in a gallop. His trainer, Chris Ryder, says that is a setback, having full confidence in the colt’s prowess. Well Built is coupled with another Ryder student, Southwind Poseidon, who did not race at two and is very green; both are eligible to the classic.


Muscle Network will get play as he debuts at three but he is not eligible and is coming off a qualifier where he won but broke badly. Looking to be in fine fettle and strong of gait is Martiniwithmuscle, who becomes our choice. He was lightly raced at two but graduated with his first win and has taken two straight at three.


The betting NJSS for fillies is a seven-horse field with only one non-eligible, the Chocolatier gal, Coin Collector. That one is one for two so far in a field of first-time sophs and gets our call. We have supported fillies by this terrific sire before due to a great percentage for winners and expect a great price for what should be a strong contender in the bunch.


The Meadows hosts a pair of $99,000 PASS miles on May 17. Division two will probably belong to champion filly Shake It Cerry. Post 7 in a field of seven should be no problem if she is raring to start her soph season anywhere near as sharp as she performed at two. 

In the first split we once again support Raging Sea, who failed at 3-1 last week, finishing sixth. She should improve here enough to win, perhaps at a better price?

Keep watching the Hambletonian Trail blog for updates and races involving eligibles through July and for live coverage from TwinSpires on Hambletonian day. Read race results at the special section archived at the Hambletonian Society web site. 

Mohawk, Meadows present eligibles’ showcases

On June 7 and June 8, Mohawk presents soph trotting herds aiming for August. As well, on June 7 colts battle at the Meadows.

Friday, June 7 offers a trio of soph-colt stakes in the Currier & Ives (C&I) series. These are events each worth $44,000 plus.

The first C&I will find the public focusing on Bluto, one of only three eligibles in the field, especially since Dave Palone take the reins. However, we like the soph debut chances of Banco Solo, also an eligible. His qualifier at the Meadowlands was impressive and he has a ton of two-year-old class. Getting a price near his 8-1 morning line may turn out to be quite the bargain if he fires in his debut.

The next C&I features six eligibles in a field of eight. Major Athens deserves a close look in his third outing as a sophomore. The only thing that stopped him from a sires-stakes victory last week was a break. He shouldn’t be penalized for that race. Still, he will come back at odds much higher than his favorite status in that affair. With the probable choices of the public in the 7 and 8 holes, staying flat is all Major Athens has to do if he is feeling anything like he did two back.

A quartet of eligibles show up for the last C&I split. Again, the Palone-driven trotter should get the best of the win pool, leaving It’s Complicated to go off at odds far higher than his chances. He was third at 20-1 last time, in the race where Major Athens broke. This is his third shot as a soph and with a sharp steer he could get a good spot and take advantage of a possible shuffle-duel between Tigress’s Legacy and High Bridge.

Two elims for the Elegant Image event next week are worth $35,000 each at Mohawk on June 7. There is more competition in this for Bee A Magician than presented itself over the last few weeks in province-bred stakes. To Dream On tries again after a disappointing debut in New York. She should not be dismissed due to that misstep. Mistery Woman is also talented and should be in the mix. We think it is time to try to beat “Magician” by backing one of those two, based on the closing odds. Probably, Mistery Woman will wind up the overlay contender but watch for odds you would never have expected for To Dream On.

The second “Image” mile should continue the winning streak for Shared Past. She seems tons better than this field and has no trouble beating any in her division so far by leaving from outside posts.

This year’s Goodtimes elims at Mohawk are not laden with eligibles. There are only six colts in the two divisions that have eyes on August and that is uncommon over the past few years for this stake.

In split one we like Per Henriksen’s BWT Taj. Per trains one of his only shots at the Hambo this year and this field is a good place to start a successful road to the elims. Per is driving and that is a good sign because no one knows a Henriksen horse like Per. If he has his “s^^^ together,” as Per is apt to express it, this could be a good night for “Taj.”

In the second Goodtimes elim, another trained-and-driven eligible colt looks to improve on a two-year-old season. Ray Schnittker would hope that Caveat Emptor could be near as good as his Hambo winner and the sire of this colt, Deweycheatumnhowe. He had some jumping problems at two but “Emptor” still showed fight and the turnaround of a season may have given him what he needs to be a contender. We know the price will be right.

The Hambletonian Society has owned and serviced the Hambletonian since its inception in 1926 and presents the 88th edition at the Meadowlands, where it has been staged since 1981, There are no supplemental entries permitted in the Hambletonian and Oaks, nor are participants allowed to race on Lasix or Butazolidin. Along with the four juvenile Breeders Cup races for thoroughbreds, they are the only events in North American horse racing that prohibit the use of any race-day medication.

Keep watching this blog for updates and races involving eligibles through July and for live coverage from TwinSpires on Hambletonian day. Read race results at the special section archived at the Hambletonian Society web site.

Miles aplenty for eligibles on tap

Sires stakes once again present Hambo-eligibles of both sexes, with divisional scenarios in New Jersey (Meadowlands) and Pennsylvania (Meadows and Harrah’s Philadelphia), along with a focused SBOA final in Ontario (Mohawk). The Hambletonian Trail herds go trotting on Friday, May 24.

A field of New Jersey Sires Stakes for colts ($33,000) and one for fillies ($34,000) are the focus at the Meadowlands. Five of six are Hambo-eligible, King Of Muscles being the odd one out.

We liked Amalfi Coast last week and stick with him for the sake of price, since Corky will be a huge choice and may have an easy go of the mile.

The fillies also have one ineligible and again we will go with the one that is not a daughter of Muscles Yankee. Southwind Cocoa has been sitting on a win and will not be the choice here. The Chocolatier femme has a good stride and some soph experience behind her now, maybe enough to take this at a decent price.

The Meadows hosts a quartet of Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) with purses of $48,000 and change for colts.

Four of eight are eligibles in the first round. A lot of attention will be given to Major Athens in his second race at three but we like Brew Master. He had a tough time in his recent race from post 9 at Woodbine but should have a race more like the one before that where he won as a 48-1 shot. He won’t be that high here but he will still be worth a price.

In the next PASS we witness the return of Aperfectyankee as he debuts at three. Up against Dontyouforgetit, the Dexter Cup failed favorite, he may need a race to handle his foe and other, budding performers here. We will go with Valley Of Sin, an ineligible that has faltered from miscues but when under control seems to be under rated.

Round three is entirely Hambo-eligibles, with a lot of chances for each of the eight to improve. Dexter Cup-winning Celebrity Maserati has to deal with post 8 aside from the new competition involved. We like the chances of San Donato and hope he will be close to his morning-line odds, 8-1. Beaten as the choice in his soph debut he had excuses beyond returning to a new division. He fought from post 8 after a slow start. He should be much better here.

Only a pair of eligibles take on six state-breds in the penultimate PASS mile. Jimmy Takter’s Bluto may get a shot at racing like his April qualifier, going wire to wire after handling a lot tougher competition in the John Simpson for a piece of the purse.

Then, in the finale for the program, Arctic Tale is one of six eligibles and the one we feel may be the bargain of the day. His recent effort at the Meadows was marred by a break after a wide, early duel that failed to get the top. Ron Burke’s gelding has a lot of speed and may be best equipped to use it in this group and win at a price.

PASSes also adorn the Harrah’s Philadelphia program on May 24, these four splits going for $61,000 plus each.

In the first split we get another chance at Cupcake, the daughter of Trotting Triple Crown-winner Glidemaster. Last week she jumped at the gate and was eliminated and must be given another shot in what appears to be an easier group to handle if she stays trotting.

In round two we will take a shot with Aspidistra Hanover. Another of many Donato Hanover daughters, she was bold at 11-1 in her debut, a PASS mile where she made a huge brush and got hanged to the half. She may be raring to show more with a good trip and we would like to have her at this price.

The third split should find Frau Blucher a favorite after her first-time Lasix win last week. But we will let the fans have her and support Coffeecake Hanover, who fired quickly to duel for the lead at the Meadows’ PASS fest last week and was in a lot of trouble late in the game. That line should send her off a great price.

Defiant Donato could be one of the best fillies in this crop, certainly one of the Hambo-winner’s top sophs this season and she almost got the whole pie at the Meadows were it not for a few steps she had to race wide, surrendering to the better journey taken by non-eligible Curtsy Hanover. She will be backed heavily but here can still be an overlay.

Bee A Magician won her SBOA filly-trot elim and will be the huge favorite in the final at Mohawk this week. She is the key and we don’t expect any of her foes to upset her speed, smooth gait and obvious confidence.

The Hambletonian Society has owned and serviced the Hambletonian since its inception in 1926 and presents the 88th edition at the Meadowlands, where it has been staged since 1981, There are no supplemental entries permitted in the Hambletonian and Oaks, nor are participants allowed to race on Lasix or Butazolidin. Along with the four juvenile Breeders Cup races for thoroughbreds, they are the only events in North American horse racing that prohibit the use of any race-day medication.

Keep watching this blog for updates and races involving eligibles through July and for live coverage from TwinSpires on Hambletonian day. Read race results at the special section archived at the Hambletonian Society web site.

 

Near the end of the ‘Trail’

HAMBLETONIAN DRAWS
http://www.meadowlandsracetrack.com/video.aspx?id=252

The destination is the Meadowlands, Aug. 3, and the colts and fillies that are left standing since the journey began in May are the only hoofs beating on the Hambletonian Trail. 

The fields are set for the Hambletonian Final and the Hambletonian Oaks Final, two events in a stakes-laden program at the Meadowlands that will be reported exclusively live through the facilities of TwinSpires and the cooperation of the Hambletonian Society. 

The eliminations, held July 28, presented berths in the coveted event and those results were not all so predictable, though the highest price winner was a hard 3-1.  

Uncle Peter won a spirited first $70,000 elimination; Knows Nothing took the second elim and Market Share won the third on a racetrack listed as “good” after rainy day on the east coast.  

Our choices, Prestidigitator (14-1), My Mvp (20-1) and Gym Tan Laundry (18-1) finished third in their respective elims, as above.

Some of the expected competitors disappointed bettors. Riccolo, recently purchased for an undisclosed amount from Illinois connections as an undefeated colt, won his first Meadowlands escapade for trainer Trond Smedshammer. But in the elim, at 7-2, he led and faded badly to finish sixth.

Possess The Will, trainer Jim Campbell’s frosh champion who was the early choice to be the Hambo winner, was 5-1 and had little excuse for a seventh-place finish against Uncle Peter, who defeated him in last year’s Breeders Crown Final.

Banker Volo gathered support late, getting a buzz loud enough to make him 3-1 against Uncle Peter and Possess The Will. He could not sustain one wide move and faded to fifth.

Stormin Normand finished fourth in the Knows Nothing victory mile, where he was the soft second choice at 3-1 to Knows Nothing, who wound up the favorite at 2-1. Stormin Normand gets into the final as the fourth-place finisher of the three elims with the most earnings.

Little Brown Fox was making a bold move when he broke and galloped out of the history books.

The “Oaks” elims went mostly at planned. The first was easily won by Check Me Out ($2.10) and the second went to Maven ($3.00).

We will analyze the races thoroughly when the post positions are official.

Yonkers Trot headlines hopefuls’ stakes agenda

H = Hambletonian eligible

Saturday, July 7’s Yonkers Trot and Hudson Filly Trot find the aiming-for-August groups squaring off in big stakes. But on Friday, July 6, and Saturday, fillies fight and colts grapple at the Meadowlands, Pocono and Hazel Park. (Note that the Hudson Filly Trot is a non-wagering stakes event.) 

World champion Googoo Gaagaa drew post 1 for the Yonkers Trot, worth $445,594. The ruling glamour-boy trotter who is not eligible to the coveted classic is the son of a pacing sire (Cam’s Rocket) and has won 11 of his 12 starts and $345,945. Googoo Gaagaa comes to the half-mile track off a 1:50.4 win—the fastest ever over a five-eighths mile oval—in the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial Final at Pocono. 

The potential giant killers include Stormin Normand (H-Broadway Hall), Market Share (H-Revenue S), Muscolo (H-Muscles Yankee) and Archangel (H-Credit Winner).  

The best anyone playing against “Googoo” can hope for is a shuffling speed duel between Googoo, Market Share and Archangel. The latter has been a speedball in New York-bred events and Market Share loves the top. So, as fast as Googoo can fly, those two could burn him enough to make room for Stormin Normand to close, either in the inner lane or wide late.  

The companion event, the Hudson Filly Trot, has only three soph fillies but is worth $185,194 and goes as a non-wagering event. Still considering a challenge for the boys, millionairess Check Me Out (H-Donato Hanover), last season's divisional champ, scared away all but Real Babe (H-Donato Hanover) and Aunt Mel (H-Yankee Glide).  

At Hazel Park a sweet trio, so to speak, of Chocolatier progeny vie for spots in next week’s William Connors Final. Looking to add some money to their accounts while they eye a spot at the classic, the first $10,000 elim features Ghirardelli Lindy (H-Chocolatier) and Duluth (H-Chocolatier). We liked Duluth earlier in the season, going against better in a New Jersey Sires Stakes, and although an appearance in the Hambo is, at best, a longshot, he could have it all over this soft group.  

In the second split you only have to look at Mr. Candyman (H-Chocolatier) and decide if he is worth the wager, being the classiest here, which is going to be obvious.

Saturday at the Meadowlands, five colts take to the track in a $46,452 W.N. Reynolds stake. This mile features the soph debut of last year’s frosh-colt trot champ, Possess The Will (H-Donato Hanover).

If he is ready, he is primed to go a big mile and then race conservatively over the next month to be fresh for his big target, the Hambo. His biggest foe, should he care to be challenged, will be Lightning Storm (H-Donato Hanover), who has been far better than expected in four starts, winning half of them quite quickly.

Also here are Power Play (H-Donato Hanover), Money On My Mind (H-Cantab Hall) and Modern Family (H-Cantab Hall).

Friday’s Reynolds is for the fillies with two divisions worth $28,426 each. Win Missy B (Conway Hall) is coming from a decent win but may not deserve favorite status. Certainly Temple Blue Chip (H-Cantab Hall) is rounding into winning form and will be an overlay.

Also here are Quarentine S (Varenne), D’Orsay (H-Yankee Glide), Riverfest and Chocoholic (Chocolatier).

The second split hands a 3-5 morning line to Maven (H-Glidemaster), which sets us off on Chocolatta De Vie (H-Chocolatier). She will be greatly overlooked and could surprise at a mighty price.

Three $50,000 Pennsylvania All Stars splits go on July 7 at Pocono, featuring fields larger that the Yonkers Trot with many Hambo hopefuls.

Fashion Astral (H-Broadway Hall) has not been too sharp but from the rail in division one may be able to control the fractions and finally get that first soph win. Also here are Fogelberg (SJ’s Caviar) and Another Amaretto (H-Andover Hall), with Bullvillcomeonjohn, Boytown, Redder Than Red and Upfront Billy.

In division two we once again like Frost Bites K (H-Broadway Hall). Even the races he has lost, six of 10, have been good races and here he is not up against anywhere near as much as he has taken on this season.

Also here are Astarisborn Hanover (H-Donato Hanover), Nothing But Class (H-Andover Hall).Can Do, Celebrity Hall, Hawaiian Caviar, The Big Thea Thea and Beluga Ridge.

The nightcap features another shot for Uncle Peter (H-Cantab Hall), who has been uneven while facing the likes of Googoo Gaagaa. He needs to win this for a few reasons and may be able to with a smooth gait as he is up against four second-tier hopefuls: Solvato (H-Donato Hanover), Lindys Jersey Boy (H-Cantab Hall), Pekoe Fashion (H-Broadway Hall), as well as Mr Ridgetaker, Mikesbrotherfrank, Pilgrims Power and On The Podium.

Get to TwinSpires for wagering all of the great races leading to the Hambletonian and “Oaks” and read all the result stories at Hambletonian Society’s exclusive “trail” section.