Northlands Bomb At $40 Tops Win List; Hot Place-Priced Scores Partner With Favorites In Strong Exotics

The mercury dipped to dangerous levels for all the participants in our personal features this weekend but the results were as mixed as ever. Our two feature winners turned out to attract the bulk of the bettors, much to our surprise and, as usual, we delivered in the exotics department, with elements that helped prices.

On Thursday, Dec. 15, we won at the Meadowlands with Icommandmyspirit ($4.60, $3.00, $3.00), which we figured would not rule the win pool.

On Friday, Dec. 16, the public attacked our feature’s horse at Yonkers and we took the win even though we finished second. Caviart Caterina ($5.80, $4.00, $2.70) was placed first though finishing second to the public’s third choice, She Said, who was disqualified. The true favorite finished third.

Also on Thursday’s Meadowlands card, we had the place horse in our second feature (our first choice, Oh That Girl finished 10^th at 83-1) with Perfect Road ($8.20, $5.40). With the favorite winning, the Exacta paid $26.40.

Friday’s Meadowlands feature contender, Mr Hasini N (12-1) finished sixth, beaten by the race favorite.

Saturday, Dec. 17 at Yonkers, a favorite beat our contender, Democracy N (4-1). At Northfield that night, our top choice for our feature there, Fly Me Courageous (42-1) finished sixth, while our second choice in that race, Stirling Cordelia ($4.80, $3.80), completed the $10.60 Exacta with the public-choice winner.

All horses that do not win in our personal features appear in the following week’s H2W list as second-time (+) entries.

We will be posting our 2016 review blog, including all of this year’s H2W and features winners, as well as our TwinSpires Players’ Horse of the Year (our top-paying winner of the year from this blog), as well as some closing notes for all of our followers, in the last week of the year. As well, more personal features are coming your way for the race cards orbiting the holidays en route to 2017..

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 49 active horses (an 20-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 week) It is up to you to follow horses that have not performed before this weekly review is posted.

Winners

Run And Tell, $40.90, $12.30, $7.50, Northlands
Officernagentleman, $9.20, $5.40, $2.80, Pompano
Silver Bill Blaze, $9.00, $4.40, $2.60, Meadows
Muscles And Spice, $7.50, $4.50, $3.40, Saratoga
PH Supercam, $7.50, $4.10, $2.40, Yonkers
Class Six, $7.10, $4.40, $3.20, Yonkers
All About Rusty, $6.00, $3.60, $2.40, Dover
Girlfriend Bash, $5.60, $4.00, $2.80, Rosecroft
Starface, $4.00, $3.00, $2.70, Fraser
Get Down Tonight, $3.00, $2.40, $2.10, Cal-Expo

Seconds

Somewhereinmexico, $12.30, $6.10, Northlands
Jacks To Open, $9.60, $4.40 (Exacta $63.00), Meadowlands
Big John Houn, $7.30, $5.40 (Exacta $32.90), Woodbine
Archery, $6.90, $3.50, Woodbine
Truth To Liberty, $6.00, $3.20 (Exacta $24.00), Meadowlands
Tricks Of Terror, $5.90, n/s/, Monticello
Alacrity, $4.70, $4.00, Woodbine
Now Playing, $4.30, $3.40, Fraser
Code Word, $4.00, $4.20 ok, Saratoga

Thirds

Xactly Mike, $6.10, Monticello
Raylan Givens, $5.30, Batavia
Dexter Jolt, $5.00, Saratoga
Lindys Possessed, $2.60, Dayton
JK Panache, $2.10, Saratoga

News & Notes

The Dan Patch divisional winners have been chosen. No surprises were included in the results. Always B Miki, the fastest winner of all time, is Older Pacer of the Year, while Betting Line became sophomore-pace champ. Huntsville won frosh-colt pacer; Idyllic Beach won frosh-filly pacer; Pure Country won soph-filly pacer; Lady Shadow won older mare pacer, Marion Marauder won soph-colt trotter; Broadway Donna won soph-filly trotter; Walner won frosh-colt trotter; Ariana G won frosh-filly trotter; Obrigado (the only choice close to a surprise) won older male trotter; and Hannelore Hanover won older mare trotter.

Rosecroft Raceway completed its fall meet. Reprieved from closing by the Stronach Group, parent company of the Maryland Jockey Club, the Maryland raceway that once shared a lucrative harness-racing circuit in the Washington, D.C. area with Freestate Raceway, considered its first meet under new management (the Stronach group bought the track from Penn National Gaming last summer). The new management’s schedule, racing only three days a week, mostly on light days for harness-racing product around North America, was successful, according to track officials that think the public “will see better horses going three days a week.” Rosecroft’s spring meet begins on March 5.

North America’s fastest older trotting male of 2015 is done racing and will stand stud in Ontario. Il Sogno Dream, a son of Cantab Hall begins stud duty at Mac Lilley Farms in Dutton, Ont. in 2017. Il Sogno Dream (4,1:50.2, $956,875) is related to the champion Father Patrick. A winner of multiple Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at two, Il Sogno Dream, surfaced as a contender many times in this blog. He won a Pennsylvania All Stars, a Currier & Ives and the Circle City at three. He took the Dayton Trotting Derby and the Allerage Open Trot in 1.50.2 at four, just one tick off the world record for four-year-old trotting stallions.

Extraordinary Extras

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

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog

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