Cashing Canadian Coups For $33, $27, $22; ‘Mosquito’ Sole Elim Stinger

Top-dollar winners once again surface in the H2W (horses-to-watch list), proving again what we emphasize about paying attention to overnight races. Though we have a great record for top-dollar winners in features throughout the year, the menu of wagering opportunities for harness players is abundant each weekday and weekend playing harness raceways all over North America through TwinSpires.

A review of features starts Thursday, Nov. 12 with four sophomore Matron Stakes finals and two consolations at Dover Downs.

Certainly we agreed with everyone that the soph-colt pacing final belonged to Wiggle It Jiggleit ($2.60, $2.10, n/s), though we could not pick up an exacta with Badiou Hanover (87-1), who finished fourth.

Our winner of the quartet was Mosquito Blue Chip ($10.60, $3.60, $2.40), though the price astounded us. We thought after our endorsement in the Breeders Crown at 12-1 and with a ninth-place finish, that the soph-filly pacer would go off much higher. We also endorsed Sassa Hanover (33-1) to duet in the exacta after a terrific “Crown” effort. She finished seventh in the Matron.

We partnered with the favorite, Crazy Wow, in the soph-colt trot with Crescent Fashion ($4.00, $2.80), which produced a tepid exacta of $6.00 and we could only muster fourth in the filly trot with I’m So Fancy (43-1), which produced the top two favorites eating the pools alive with a sad $4.60 exacta.

The consolations produced a colt-trot exacta ($10.80) with the favorite and our choice, Cue Hall ($6.60, $3.80), and another fourth finisher, Frost Damage Blues (5-2), as two longshots finished one-two in a field reduced to six (after our analysis) from four scratches.

Friday, Nov. 13 at the Meadowlands opener, we were seventh to the favorite in the Goldsmith Maid elim with Ultimate Shopper (10-1). The favorite won the event.

Saturday, Nov. 14, two other sets of elims for the Fall Final Four were parts of the track program. The closest we came to cashing was with the Valley Victory elim, with Lagerfield ($2.40) third to the favorite, and Spider Man Hanover ($2.80), third in a Governor’s Cup elim. Beach Ogre (60-1), our top choice, finished sixth in that one.

In the other Valley Victory elim, Celebrity Express (10-1) broke and was eliminated as a recent H2W choice (two-time loser) won at a huge price.

A 4-1 beat our second Governor’s Cup choice, Autotune Hanover (5-1) who made the final, finishing fourth. We will analyze the favorites in this Thursday’s TwinSpires harness blog.

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 the 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 49 active horses (a 20-percent win hit rate and a 43-percent in-the-money hit rate). One note: the list included three horses at Batavia that at the time we thought would be betting races; they turned out to be non-betting races.

Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place and/or show results occurring after press time and that it is up to you to follow those horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Alverna, $33.90, $7.90, $2.20, Fraser
Wine Photo, $27.40, $8.90, $9.00, Woodbine
High Fashion, $22.00, $9.50, $5.50, Woodbine
Chestnut Chic, $8.00, n/p, n/s, Dover
Radar Contact, $5.80, $3.40, $2.40, Meadowlands
Lil Miss Bourbon, $4.60, $2.80, $2.10, Rosecroft
Ideal Vintage, $4.40, $2.80, $2.30, Plainridge
Resolve, $4.60, $2.80, $2.10, Meadowlands
Cool Runnings, $3.20, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Plainridge
Epic Smash, $2.20, $2.10, $2.10 ok, Dover

Seconds

Lexington Avenue, $8.20, $5.60, Dayton
Marquesas, $4.40, $3.80, Hoosier
Al Raza N, $4.00, $2.70, Yonkers
Need Help Here, $3.70, $3.10, Saratoga
Nitrous Force, $3.70, $3.00, Fraser
Sassy Hanover, $3.40, $2.30, Vernon
Perfect Pitch, $2.20, $2.60 ok, Cal Expo

Thirds

Kims PJs, $4.00, Charlottestown
Noahs Shark, $3.80, Northfield
Ninetymile Hanover, $2.50, Fraser
Jk Endofanera, n/s, Meadowlands


News & Notes

Northfield Park has announced nine Progressive Claiming Series—claiming late closer series that give claimers an opportunity to race for solid purses in each leg and a big money final. Base claiming prices for the series are $5,000, $8,000 and $15,000, with those tags and purses increasing as horses compete in legs. Each of the claiming prices is offered for filly and mare pacers, horse and gelding pacers, and trotters.

Jeff Gural, arguably harness racing’s greatest supporter, released an important message about the future of the Meadowlands. Gural saved the historic track from the bulldozers a few years back, reconstructed it and continues to pour money into its survival. He writes candidly about its tenuous existence and you can read it by clicking here.

Friend of our journalistic efforts through the years and a horsemen we supported through tougher times, George Brennan made his milestone at Yonkers recently, winning his 9,000th driving victory. “All milestones are special,” Brennan said. “I’d been thinking about [nine thousand wins] a bit and I knew I was if was going to get it [the night it happened but] I was running out of chances.” Brennan won the last pair of races on the program to make the mark. The 48-year-old Brennan won his first race behind Rob Ron Romper at Monticello Raceway as a high-school junior in 1982. His career earnings exceed $152 million. Brennan is 17th in all-time in wins and eighth in purses earned.

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in many standardbred topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances.

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog

For Thom Pye cartoons, informative harness history and more, click here ~