H-Trail Terror Trots To $64 Win; Confederation Cup Elim Coup At $19; Power Plays Produce

Sunday, May 14’s Confederation Cup (CC) elims presented yet another chance to cash in on Western Fame ($19.60, $3.30, n/s). Continually on our contenders’ lists and hit a few times since last year, Western Fame always produces healthy prices. In the first CC elim he was overlooked as the crowd went extremely heavy, as we expected, on Check Six. He finished second, making the final but also bowing to a great elim-winning price, especially in a six-horse field.

The second CC elim went comfortably to the huge favorite and our contender, Roll Away Joe (n/s) was third, where betting was banned.

This week on the Hambletonian Trail there were four Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) for soph-filly trotters on May 13 at the Meadows and our choices produced a huge profit even though three of four of them never finished a race.

Top-picks Onda Su (5-2), Caviart Wonder (5-1) and Ellerie Hanover (28-1) each went galloping during their lucrative PASS mile, with a second choise in round two, Hot Mess Hanover ($4.20) getting third.

But in the third of the four rounds, we beat the 1-9 favorite with Cool Cates ($64.00, $22.80, $12.80), turning the PASS quartet into a strong profit situation no matter how you cut your wager.

Keep your eyes on our exclusive blog that leads up to the first weekend in August when the trotting classics catch the focus of the world. The Hambletonian Trail archive result stories appear on the Hambletonian Society’s website.

We offered other PASS soph-filly pacing events on Thursday, May 11, at Philadelphia, and one place finish made all of the difference. In division three of four, V String ($17.60, $6.60) combined with the winning public choice for a $36.60 exacta.

In the remaining trio, Risky Romance (24-1) was fourth, Concerto (41-1) was fifth and Caviart Ally (5-1) broke and finished seventh to a 5-1 shot. A favorite and a co-favorite won two.

May 12’s Power Plays race at Yonkers presented three of our four contenders involved in exotics. The race favorite won and we contributed to the $8.30 exacta with Sweet Talkin Satin ($3.30, $2.50), to the $34.20 trifecta with Dakota Jack ($3.10) and the $459.50 superfecta with BJs Guy (fourth). Only one of our contenders failed to participate in the Power Plays—Pier Ho Temptation (39-1) finished seventh.

May 13’s personal feature at Pocono was Fool Of Ideas, an 18-1 shot that was beaten by a 19-1 shot. Fool Of Ideas finished fifth.

On various Wednesday nights we tweet for TwinSpires Twitter members from @FrankCotolo –retweeted by @twinspires—and the raceway involved. Losers from each week will appear on the next week’s horses-to-watch (H2W) list unless they race before that blog is published, so watch for them returning to the races on days in between blogs. Watch for special tweets from raceways on various Wednesdays.

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 34 active horses (a 15-percent win hit rate and a 56-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 week) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Roll With Howie, $6.40, $3.00, $2.40, Meadows
Textually Active, $6.00, $4.70, $2.30, Charlottetown
VIP Bayama, $5.60, $3.40, $2.40, Pocono
American Plan, $5.20, $3.00, $2.10, Scarborough
Ohio Larry, $4.00, $3.40, $2.80, Hawthorne

Seconds

Lucy From Hebron, $6.60, $3.40, Scarborough
Lolas Cruiser, $5.30, $3.90 (Exacta $28.20), Monticello
Rock It On Out, $4.00, Hoosier
Bas J, $3.80, $2.80, Plainridge
Fox Valley Leo, $3.30, $2.50 (Exacta $9.00), Tioga
Lady Spartacus, $3.00, $2.10, Scarborough
Keystone Bodacious, $2.40, $2.20, Pompano
Sand Sonya, $2.40, $2.10, Northfield

Thirds

PL Adder, $6.60, Northville
Kennel Browser, $3.00, Plainridge
American Gal K, $2.60, Meadows
Mcturesque, $2.30, Buffalo
Mar Dream, $2.20, Hawthorne
Clara Bea, $2.10, Monticello

News & Notes

Just as our anticipation was percolating for this season’s debut of That’s The Ticket, 2016’s TwinSpires Harness Player’s Horse of the Year, her season has ended. After a pair of sterling wins in qualifiers, her connections have told reporters her 2017 campaign is “pretty much over.” The three-year-old Roll With Joe filly had emergency surgery because she suffered a blockage in her intestine. She was had “a small adhesion on her colon.” Her owners thought she may not make it through the three-hour surgery. Trainer, Chris Ryder said that after she is past the recovery period he expects her to be fine “once she heals and trains back.”

She’s Watching raced twice last year, winning both races. Then, a hairline fracture in her left hind ankle sidelined her. She’s back at three, preparing for her campaign, managed by Tony Alagna. She qualified on May 12 at the Meadowlands, winning in 1:54.1. It was her second qualifier. Muscle Hill-product Signal Hill won his qualifier in 1:55.4. The $250,000 yearling buy whose family includes 2006 Horse of the Year Glidemaster won twice last season, one in a division of the Champlain Stakes. Also qualifying from the Alagna Stable were four-year-old male trotter Winter Harbor (another Muscle Hill) and soph-colt pacer Odds On Delray (by Somebeachsomewhere) “Oaks” hopeful  Chezatter, from Trond Smedshammer’s barn, finished fifth in her first qualifier, timed in 1:57.3.

The partners and trainer of pacing colt Downbytheseaside announced he will bypass the lucrative Pennsylvania Sire Stakes this season and race in the Art Rooney Pace at Yonkers Raceway. They agreed the “Rooney” is the best preparation for their goal—The North America Cup. Downbytheseaside set the world record for frosh-pacing colts on a half-mile in 1:50 at the Delaware County Fair and followed it by equaling the record for a frosh pacer on a mile, winning his International Stallion Stakes division in 1:49 at The Red Mile.

Extraordinary Extras

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