Hearts Pounding For Winning Wagers On Valentine’s Day Weekend

Aside from the fact that Valentine’s Day falls on a weekend’s Sunday this year, poets have called February the lost month of any year. However, we are not about to get poetic about anything lost, so to speak. In the thick of winter, harness bettors like us go for the win during the so-called lost month. And our hearts belong to the game.

We’ll start again this week at Freehold on Thursday, then take on the legs and the total Pick 3 at the Meadowlands on Friday and continue to sensationalize on our Miami Valley late Pick 4 on Saturday. Although we have not hit the exotic, we have found some great success in the individual legs.

As usual, too, the TwinSpires exclusive H2W (horses-to-watch list) feature delivers “live” contenders with across the board, single- and multi-race exotics value. Our personal research from races across North America make up some of the finest bargains in the sport.  

F E A T U R E S ~ F E A T U R E S ~ F E A T U R E S

Freehold/Race 9
Thursday, Feb. 11

Last week we made a case for Quiet Cammille before she scratched. In this event, the same class as last week, the 13-year-old mare comes back after two performances that made the purse grid at 37-1 (third) and 46-1 (second). The morning-line odds choice, Mickey Blue, is a horse she beat in those races. The second probable favorite, Sleazy Does It, who starts to her right, is more the threat and could partner a strong exacta win or place. This event starts the late Daily Double.

 Freehold/Race 10
Thursday, Feb. 11

In a Daily Double featuring the probable favorite in this race, Beau Rivage N, you may not get a fair share of the exotic pool. However, if you use our suggested contenders in the single-race pools as well as the Daily Double, you may be looking at cashing a fat ticket. Rusty Skipp drops after an even performance. The time before that he was 8-5 off of two good races at 34-1 and 27-1. He cannot be dismissed with this dip, since the probable choice is no lock. Also, Northern Ideal won a comparable claimer last out; moving away from tags is a good sign, though she will be one of the top three public choices for sure.

 F E A T U R E S ~ F E A T U R E S ~ F E A T U R E S

Meadowlands/ Pick 3/ Race 4-6
Friday, Feb. 12

In Race 4, the first leg, it is smart to take a look at a contender for this race which in this class last time out finished 10^th. Mc Tinys Hope came to the Meadowlands and was filled with early foot while trying to compensate for leaving from post 8. Challenged to a battle for two calls, he was 11-1—and overlay—that got rattled in the first half. Last year’s campaigning for the Mike Simons-trained trotter was at Vernon, in a class that could be under-rated by Meadowlands’ bettors. This trotter is used to racing with bettor horses than show up here. He could start the triad of needed winners with a very good price.

The middle leg, Race 5, could also be a surprise to strict form handicappers because the past-performance lines of Mojarra Hanover don’t send out strong messages for being a contender. But, when you toss out her first race at the Meadowlands on Jan. 22 (a higher class and poor effort), you see the week before, at 24-1, where she is strongly involved with an overland route and catches third—at Yonkers! That four-turn trip deserves a lot of respect. Further back we see a seventh at a Freehold top-class affair and before that a pair of wins that started at Freehold and continued at a Meadowlands race (stepping up) in a crowded field.

Also deserving respect is the 9 horse, Apricot Sour, who steps down from two strenuous trips at Yonkers in a few levels of class above this one.

Leg three, Race 6, could blow this Pick 3 into the four-digit pay-off region, especially if you agree to add our contenders and one of them pulls off a win. First, , Montalbano BI comes off a nasty break and must leave from post 10, but that is not enough to toss him out. He has been short a lot but mostly on the purse grid and he takes a small step up to be here, most likely going off far too high to leave off the ticket.

From post 7, Muscerene looks to be straying from good form at Freehold to the Meadowlands but his recent two are excusable and he may very well hold on to a front position to finish first or in one of the other paying positions on the board.

F E A T U R E S ~ F E A T U R E S ~ F E A T U R E S

Miami Valley / Pick 4/Races 9-12
Saturday, Feb. 13

This week’s Miami Valley Late Pick 4 sequence will be tough to snag a couple prices, however, we will still attempt to do so.

Leg one, Race 9, is a $12,500 claiming pace, headlined by class-dominator Ally-con, ironically entering off a defeat to Singing Saint last week. Yet, he’s poised to get an easy trip, which still makes him a credible threat. Against him are two outsiders with a chance: The Ladies Man and Saulsbrook Astrobo. Starting from the rail, The Ladies Man makes his second start off a layoff. His latest effort, the second of his season, was a major improvement from his return because he managed to gain ground and nearly win, compared to a ninth-place trip around the track.

Saulsbrook Astrobo is moving up in class off of two sharp wins from two different racing styles. He claimed the win against $8,000 claimers off a stalking move midway through the race, while he followed that effort with a sweeping move in the stretch to win against $10,000 claimers. He seems versatile enough to pave his own trip and bring a price along with it.

More claiming pacers are in action in the second leg, Race 10, with Sunday Poker and Poison Oak being the outside contenders. Sunday Poker was claimed two starts ago and followed that with a closing effort from the second-tier, resulting in a second-place finish. He should be racing closer to the pace here because he draws on the gate, which should be less ground to make up.

Dropping in class, Poison Oak enters from a seventh-place effort against conditioned stock. But, looking to his performances against $20,000 claimers before, he showed some kind of ability in parking the mile and attempting to make a sweeping move in the final quarter. That ability may peek out in this lower company.

Another group of claimers congregate for leg three, Race 11. Machin Music beat this group last week, brushing to the top at three-quarters and drawing off to a 2-length win. His post draw positions him to get a similar trip, and, therefore, deliver a similar outcome. That is, if Blueridge Doc doesn’t take this field gate to wire. Drawing post 9 last out he launched off the gate per usual, setting up hot early fractions that drained his energy for the final half. His only pressure could come from Mr Dennis, who may try to battle him from first over.

The Open Handicap caps this Pick 4 sequence, Race 12, with it also being Mykindachip’s race to lose. He’s the only pacer here with any kind of evidence that can easily translate to a good performance at this level, especially with his inside draw. However, he could be toppled once again by two foes, the first being Radar Contact, stepping up to this level from a non-winners of $10,000 event. There, he got away from the gate poorly but recovered to ride in the two-wide flow and rally to finish second. The aforementioned race was also after a win secured by Radar Contact in a non-winners of $6,000 event.

If class is an issue, My Temudjin N has a great start at this level under his belt. Making his third start off a layoff, the first two starts of his season consisted of parking the mile and doing so from either first or second over. While he didn’t gain any ground against this competition last week, he should get a better trip here and be a bigger factor in the final stages.

H2W Legend

Review our choices and follow the wagering at the prescribed track. These are possible contenders we have judged from reviewing races. The horses’ names are listed beneath the name of the track after the date they will be racing. The race in which they are entered (R and race number) follows. If a + is in front of a horse’s name it means it is appearing on the list for the second (and last) time because it failed to win the first time it appeared. An “ae” signals the horse is entered on the also-eligible list. If a horse is listed twice, refer to the entries on the night of the race since a horse may enter in more than one race. Types of wagering on any of the H2W listed horses are based on your judgment. If you have any questions, email us at TwinSpires.

H2W LIST

Buffalo
2/12/16, +Stirling Cadillac ae R8
2/13/16, Dodger Hanover R4; +Whosurpal R7; +Stirling Cadillac ae R6; That Horse JD R8

Cal Expo
2/13/16, Majorley R4; Moon Is On Fire R9
2/14/16, Capitol Hill R5; Willey Bite R11

Dover
2/14/16, Picard R12
2/15/16 , +Rocknroll Power R4

Flamboro
2/12/16, +Hellsapoppin R5; +Honi Maker R11
2/14/16, +Musical Spell R4

Fraser
2/12/16, Getter Queen Flush R3; Boom Shazam R5; Cams Cool Shark R6; +Yanotherhos R10

Freehold
2/11/16, +Cold Escape R4
2/12/16, +Rosslyn Chapel R7
2/13/16, +Doggone Incredible R5; +Taylorlane Cruises R10

Meadowlands
2/12/16,  Exquisite Glide R7; +Cincinnati Miss R9; Paris Princess N R11; +Twin B Elite ae R12, ae R14

Meadows
2/13/16, +Artsmah R1; +Desperation R13

Miami
2/13/16, +In Theory R5; +Pipecreek Yankee R9; +Ally-con R9; +Hot N Shooting R10; +Wilcox R11; +King Otra ae R11; +Schoolkids R12; +Bad Bug R13; +Hey Dali R13; +Crank It Up R14

Northfield
2/13/16, +B Good Lena R2; +Twinky R6; My Marisa Clair R13; +Bonos Lassie R13

Western Fair
2/12/16, Electrictensions R6; King Trut R8; Lady Richmond R10

Woodbine
2/12/16, Whistys Paradise R3; St Lads Penny Lane R4; Pictonian Sareta R4; Show Some Leg R5; Kayla Grace R6; Rocky De Vie R7; War Filly R10
2/13/16, +Lets Wait And See R4; Hetties Commander R7; +Bilbo Hanover R10 

Yonkers
2/12/16, +Eskimo Joe R2
2/13/16, Soul Train ae R2; Hugh Hefner N R8
2/15/16, +Mojo Terror R9

Ray Cotolo contributes to each edition