Harness weekly update: Aced Adios Entries

The TwinSpires Harness Blog Weekly Update covers our successes and failures from selected features and the H2W (horses-to-watch list).

Thursday, July 22

We suggested seven horses for the TwinSpires Hit It and Split It deal at Hoosier. Though just one contributed with a win, most of the suggestions were valuable in the Pick 4’s individual legs.

Gold Star Sven ($10.00, $4.60, $3.20) won the second leg, where we also hit a cold exacta using our other leg-two choice, Whatstrublnudragon ($13.00, $7.20) — the exacta paid $109.00.

Leg one’s contender, Every Play Counts ($3.60), finished third. Both of leg three’s contenders finished on the board, with Lees Creek Flash ($4.20, $3.20) second and Delightful Virgin ($5.40) third.

In the last leg, we were second with Roll With Jr ($3.40, $2.80) while Big Bank Hank (16-1) broke and finished 10th.

Thursdays through Aug. 5, the early Pick 4 at Hoosier Park is a $2,000 Hit It and Split It exclusive deal. Click for details.

Friday, July 23

Two sires stakes events at the Meadows for soph-colt trotters were won by the fan favorites. We were second with Ethan T. Hanover ($3.20, $2.40,) for a $9.00 exacta in one division and seventh with Speed Away (33-1) in the other split.

Saturday, July 24

Though we only had one winner in the Adios elims, that being Abuckabett Hanover ($8.40, $6.00, $2.60), all but one of our choices (One Eight Hundred finished last at 3-5) made it to the final next week. Southwind Gendry ($2.10), Chase H Hanover ($2.80) and Lou's Pearlman ($2.10) all finished third to earn their spots.

At the Meadowlands, the Grand Circuit Tomkins-Geers stakes presented some of the probable Hambletonian colts and Oaks fillies.

Venerate ($2.10) finished third, staying flat in a race he needed to race squarely as the Hambo elims are near ready to take entries. Our choice in the second colt chapter, Caruso (6-1), broke at the gate and was eliminated.

The first filly division found our choice, Wet My Whistle (5-2), attractive to the crowd but unable to make a strong impression upon the field, finishing off the board. The second filly division was a quixotic mile, with Piper Hanover ($2.10) leading in a crawl and giving up to finish third with no excuse to an 18-1 shot.

In Saratoga’s Joe Gerrity Memorial, the first three finishing horses were Ron Burke-trained, including the favorite winner This Is The Plan. Our attempt to upset with Leonidas (5-1) failed as he went first over and did not perform as we thought he could, finishing sixth.

H2W LIST RESULTS

The H2W results list across-the-board prices. Exactas listed include a H2W horse finishing second to a race-favorite or if the first two finishers are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses are listed—a cold exacta). The note “OK” determines that prices are correct (even when a show price exceeds a place price or all prices are the same).

Please note that some results reflect horses racing after the blog posts (they appear the following week).

This week, there were 29 active horses (a 21% win hit rate and a 55% ATB [across-the-board] hit). Horses with asterisks before their names were tweets @FrankCotolo. Follow for late choices.

Winners

Rebecca, $14.40, $6.80, $4.80, Meadows
Magic Bob, $11.60, $7.80, $3.20, Plainridge
Sea Shadows, $5.20, $3.80, $2.80, Northfield
Heid, $4.90, $3.50, $2.90, Vernon
Electric Western, $4.60, $2.70, $2.30, Yonkers
Benson Boys N, $4.20, $2.20, $2.30 OK, Pocono

Seconds

Goorilla, $15.80, $7.40, Plainridge
Play To The Crowd, $4.60, $3.00 (Exacta $7.60), Northfield
Gold Medal Swan, $3.40, $3.20, Philly
Kyrie Deo, $2.30, $3.20 OK, Plainridge

Thirds

Rev It Up Man, $9.60, Meadows
Lou’s Delight, $4.00, Scioto
Ballerat Boomerang, $3.70, Yonkers
OK Jewel, $2.80, Hawthorne
Mystical Wynn, $2.80, Philly
Dream Of Luck, $2.20, Pocono

NEWS & NOTES

TwinSpires is making Thursdays bigger for bettors. On the day the TwinSpires harness blog preview drops and every Thursday through Aug. 5, the early Pick 4 at Hoosier Park is a $2,000 Hit It And Split It exclusive deal.

Here we go again. Two weeks before the Hambletonian final, a pair of Marcus Melander eligible colts are on the cusp of major headlines. Dancinginthedark M and Sonofamistery look great to come out of the Hambo elims with choice spots in the final’s field. Dancinginthedark M won a stakes at the Meadowlands in the fastest trotting mile of 2021. Sonofamistery broke in two Opens and still won each. We have not given up on Venerate, though, unless his breaking issues make Julie Miller keep him from racing in the classic.

For Ken Warkentin’s 2021 Hambletonian top 10 contenders, we compare top fives.

1. Dancinginthedark M / Venerate
2. Sonofamistery / Sonofamistery
3. Johan Palema / Johan Palema
4. Venerate / On A Streak
5. In Range / Captain Corey

Batavia Downs kicked off season 74 on July 21, welcoming back a live crowd to harness racing in western New York. The meet runs for 59 dates, ending Dec. 11. In July and August racing takes place on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. (ET), Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 1:15 p.m. In September, October and November, the schedule shifts to Wednesday, Friday (except Nov. 19 and 26), and Saturday with post times at 5 p.m. December cuts back to just Wednesday and Saturday and both will go to post at 5 p.m. There are two special matinee cards on Sept. 6 at 1:15 p.m. and Nov. 6 at 3:15 p.m.

The North America Cup for glamour-boy pacers at Mohawk is posting its top 10 contenders (on the left) and our top five.

1. American Courage / Lawless Shadow
2. Perfect Sting / Charlie May
3. Bulldog Hanover / Southwind Gendry
4. Southwind Gendry / Perfect Sting
5. Lawless Shadow / American Courage

Extraordinary Extras

Indulge in our columns, Alternative Actions and Bettors Banquet, at Harness Racing Update