Contenders Contribute Winners, Exotics To Saturday Stakes

Thursday, Sept. 12 Indiana Sires Stakes (INSS) continued for frosh-colt pacers at Hoosier in two lucrative events. We were involved in both, which were won by the public’s first choices. We finished second with Straight Up Cool ($3.40, $3.40 ok), completing the $10.80 exacta. In the other INSS we were third with Sawyers Desire ($2.80). Friday, Sept. 13 Those TwinSpires members receiving the exclusive Hoosier horse of the week were handed a winner with Gold Star Major ($6.40, $3.60, $2.80). Saturday, Sept. 14 Woodbine/Mohawk (WoMo)’s heavy night of stakes began with She’s A Great Lady elims. We won the second with Lyons Sentinell ($6.00, $2.40, n/s). The first elim was won by the crowd’s choice; we finished fifth with Sneaky Peaky (11-1). Our best and the best win price of the evening came with our choice, HP Royal Theo ($15.40, $5.30, $3.60) in the stakes final for the frosh-colt trotters. The favorite won the frosh-filly trot final, while we finished third with PL Notsince ($8.60). The Metro Pace elims went as bettors planned. We were second in the first elim with Papi Rob Hanover ($2.30, n/s) as the favorite won and the exacta paid $4.50. Then, we went along with the public for obvious reasons—the division’s dominance by Capt Midnight ($2.30, $2.10, n/s). Our contenders were prolific in the eight New York Sires Stakes (NYSS) state championships at Batavia, Our two choices were at the wire in the first of the finals. Zero Tolerance ($2.30, $2.10, n/s) won, while JK American Beauty (n/s) was third. We won and nailed a $9.40 cold exacta in the second NYSS with Quincy Blue Chip ($4.50, $2.20, n/s) and Winndevie ($2.40, n/s). The crowd favorite (Merga Hanover, our second choice) lost the next NYSS final and our top contender, Racine Bell ($17.40, $4.80) finished second. We scored along with the crowd next, winning with Hypnotic AM ($2.10, n/p/s). The favorite beat us in final five but our contenders completed the exotics. We finished second with Groovy Joe ($2.90, $3.10) and third with Freedom Warrior ($3.10). The exacta paid $16.00 and the triple paid $61.00. We won the next NYSS final with Third Shift ($10.00, $7.50, $5.30). No comment on the penultimate NYSS championship, won by the ultimate champion trotter, Gimpanzee ($2.10, n/p/s). The nightcap stakes was won by the crowd choice, while our projected upset, Buddy Hill (24-1) did not meet the projection, finishing sixth. BREEDERS CROWN COUNTDOWN Our assessment of soph-colt trotter Green Manalishi S ($4.60, $3.10, $2.80) proves to be correct again as he easily defeated Hambletonian-winner Forbidden Trade in the Canadian Trotting Classic. In fact, Forbidden Trade finished third but was placed off the board for interference. The Elegant Image Final for soph-filly trotters was our greatest failure as Sisters Promise (63-1) raced miserably to finish 10^th and Evident Beauty won at a remarkable 9-1. 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 a cold 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 47 active horses (a 21-percent win hit rate and a 49-percent ATB [across-the-board] hit rate). Please note that some H2W results reflect win, place, show and exotic results occurring by press time but some horses race after the blog is posted (we list them the following weeks) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review. Winners Diamond Head, $31.80, $20.80, $7.80, Philly Freddy B Quick, $15.00, $5.60, $3.60, Hawthorne Drop The Pilot, $8.20, $4.20, $3.20, Meadows Finnick Odair, $5.00, $3.40, $2.20, Philly Rome Pays Off, $4.40, $3.60, $2.40, Philly Arnold, $3.90, $2.30, $2.30 ok, Batavia Benjis Best, $3.40, $2.60, $2.10, Pocono Strong Playin King, $3.40, $2.40, $2.10, Hoosier Ali De Vie, $2.70, $2.30, $2.20, Batavia Real Cool Sam, $2.40, n/p/s, Philly Seconds Hasty Western, $6.20, $3.80 (Exacta $22.40), Monticello I Am Will, $4.40, $4.40 ok (Exacta $25.80), Dayton Santanna One, $3.30, $2.90 (Exacta $16.00), Saratoga Dr Snow, $3.00, $2.60 (Exacta $5.60), Monticello Manhattan Beach, $3.00, $3.60 ok, Dayton Pacing Major, $2.50, $2.10 (Exacta $7.10), Yonkers Split The House, $2.10, n/s, Red Mile Thirds Cult Icon, $6.60, Dayton Petal To The Metal, $5.40, Freehold Calm As Can Be, $2.60, Northville Iwillmakeyousaywow, $2.60, Pocono Bondi Hanover, $2.40, Pocono Ransom Demand, n/s, Yonkers News & Notes Many times, when a longshot surfaces, a follower of this blog may have been alerted to its better chances of winning at the TwinSpires harness blog. So, how did we miss this, one, at Philly on Sept. 12? The winner, Pittstop Kip, closed to win by a neck at 221-1. Unpredictably, the race’s 3-5 favorite broke stride early, followed by a gallop from the public’s second choice. Pittstop Kip inherited the lead and ultimately the win. Pittstop Kip returned $447.00, $145.20 and $18.80. An 86-1 shot completed the $1,394 exacta. Greenshoe, one of the applauded Marcus Melander-trained trotting trio of this season, has barely three months to complete his racing career. Hanover Shoe Farms announced that Greenshoe will retire to stud at the Pennsylvania farm at the conclusion of his three-year-old campaign for stallion. According to connections, Greenshoe is slated to appear in three more races—the Kentucky Futurity on Oct. 6 and the Breeders Crown elim, if necessary, and final on Oct. 26. Connections are undecided about a Greenshoe entry into the TVG final at the Meadowlands on Nov. 23. The racing season’s stretch, so to speak, is underway. Grand Circuit racing will be taking place next week at the Delaware County Fair, it being Little Brown Jug week. Delaware will host nine Grand Circuit events, led by the Little Brown Jug and its counterpart, the Jugette. Technically, the “Jug” is the third and final leg of pacing’s Triple Crown. Though the title in itself is moot, it is rendered entirely impotent this season, since leg one, the Cane Pace, and leg two, the Messenger, were won by different horses. As H2W followers must already know, Dayton Raceway kicked off a 78-program season for 2019 on Sept. 9. The raceway welcomes back some of our favorite conditioners, which we measure from their win percentages. Topping the sextet is Tim McKoy, who won a bulging 60 percent of his races in 2018. Also on tap are Adam Short (33 percent), Noah Garrett and Zach Tackett (25 percent), George Tyler, Derek Watiker and Clarence Foulk (24 pecent). Here is the TwinSpires harness racing’s final Little Brown Jug top 10. Unlike the “official” Jug top 10, we judge our selections on current performances that may indicate improvements by the September race date, along with our personal probabilities based upon past predictions since the 1980s. 1. Wild Wild Western 2. Captain Victorious 3. Southwind Ozzi 4. Stag Party 5. Yacht Week 6. Best In Show 7. Captain Crunch 8. Shake The House 9. Buddy Hill 10. Proof Extraordinary Extras Indulge in our monthly columns, Alternative Actions and Bettors Banquet at Harness Racing Update