Trotting Drums Along The Mohawk; Empire Freshmen Assault Sires Stakes; Wiggle It Jiggleit Races Home

Mohawk gathers last week’s elimination contenders for five huge finals. Among the fields are many of the stars aiming still higher to reach earnings and perhaps capture the divisional championships in the Breeders Crown series. A Twinspires million-point Pick 4 on the Sept. 17 Mohawk program is ready to be attacked, also. Click here for details and see below for our suggestions on the ticket.

Our Breeders Crown Countdown blog will handle two freshman division finals, the Peaceful Way and the William Wellwood, as well as the mare pacers’ traditional Milton Stakes.

Also on the features’ list will be lucrative New York Sires Stakes events for freshmen, a pair of Freehold’s signature frosh events and Wiggle It Jiggleit returning to Harrington for another shot at a speed mark.

The TwinSpires horses-to-watch list (H2W), fresh off another row of successes that was led by a $94 winner, puts overnight-mile harness contenders on the table at many North American programs. These exclusive choices are great for all types of wagers. No other handicappers cover this much activity and few can brag as much about profiting from cold choices. You won’t find our best winners on any on-line or hard copy source. Take these horses seriously when constructing your wagers.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES AGAIN

Three frosh-colt pacing New York Sires Stakes (NYSS), each worth $48,000-plus, are the highlight events at Yonkers on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Six state-breds set sail in the first division, led by Miso Fast from the productive sire Roll With Joe. A strong competitor that could be the second choice and best bet to beat “Miso” is Rock That Boat, from speedball sire Rock N Roll Heaven (out of the rich mare Tug River Princess).

Round two also gathers a sextet, with Serious Major and Funknwaffles a pair of strong public choices. The coveted 1 hole at Yonkers could be the path of an upset. It’s a Roll With Joe colt named Twin B Cowboy. Dr. Ian Moore brings his trainee from Canada and won’t be very attractive to the New York crowd. 

The third NYSS sextet could offer value with Music Is Art. The Steve Elliot-trained colt has a top sire and has won one of three starts to wind up in this field of promising pacers, arguably the weakest of the three events.

A single NYSS event for frosh-filly pacers is the focus of the Friday, Sept. 16 program at Tioga. Eight state-breds are in the $110,200-purse field. The group of eight has already won a load of dough this season.  Roll With Joe-daughter Robin J. and Planet Rock are the richest and they are both trained by Linda Toscano. Still unbeaten in three starts, however, is Tequila Monday and he should be worth a wager from post 7, as the crowd will lean on the aforementioned duo.

FREEHOLD FEATURES

What was once a major Freehold event for glamour-boy trotters, The Charles Smith, has been reduced in stature over the past decade. At only a $42,000 prize, it attracted only five on Sept. 16. The sole Hambo-field character is Dominion Beach and he should be an easy winner if he stays afloat. But if there is any price to be worthy of a wager, it could come from Inukchuk Chuck from post 1. This son of Lucky Chucky has been collecting checks for a decent resume and while most bettors see this as a big step up in class, that may not matter at all with a good and probably faster trip than his mark.

Also once a major event, the Lou Babic for frosh-filly pacers goes at Freehold on Sept. 17 for $57,000 with seven femmes on tap. Only one of these gals has broken her maiden, that is Designated Drinker, who is one of the seven fillies in this contest from the sire If I Can Dream. With the sire factor eliminated as a handicapping factor, we support Post Time Dream, from post 1. It is hard to knock a horse that has only raced once, especially in a field that offers little confidence in the top earners. .

MAPLE LEAF TROT

In this $632,000 classic trot for the elders, we have 10 solid and semi-solid members of the division that are formidable and familiar rivals. However, the barreling Resolve takes post 1 and the probability of an upset will demand a very fat price.

Hannelore Hanover’s connections paid well to supplement into this event and will be all out to take the final after getting some money back from an elim win. Shake It Cerry is shackled with the 10 hole, which would not matter if she were the gal she was at three but against the boys in this affair her chances are remote.

Back on Canadian soil, Flanagan Memory has been strong since recovering from an injury and could get a monstrously fine trip with Resolve leading the way and “Hannelore” hunting for command early. “Flanagan” could very well go to post with better odds than his chances and have a ton left late to take control late, if only by a whisker.

GLAMOUR AND ELEGANCE

The $436,000 Elegantimage Final is expected to be another command performance by the soph-filly trotter division leader, Caprice Hill. That being said, let’s give Royal Charm a lot of credit for getting to the final.

Royal Charm’s trip, which finished third in the second elim, created a two-move jet stream that was better than the winner, Flowers N Songs, and place horse, Dream Child. “Charm” should certainly be in the mix with a tour of the track like that and if she doesn’t have enough to beat Caprice Hill, she will boost the exotic prices getting on the purse grid.

SOPH-STARS OF TROT

Next to the Hambletonian, the Canadian Trotting Classic remains a major glamour-boy trotting event. This year it offers $687,000 and the major stars from the August classic are poised to go after it with a passion.

Southwind Frank is on the far inside, with Bar Hopping and Hambo-champ Marion Marauder leaving nearby. The ever-improving Winter Harbor is here and Tony Alagna’s comeback kid will look for every opportunity to get even better against these foes, who have been much more busy than he has been.

The favorite should wind up to be “Marauder,” meaning a good price on “Frank” and “Bar.” But the only major upset we see is Winter Harbor, who will not be supported as well as the other three. We really have no choice but to shrug if Marauder or Frank win and to dismiss Bar for the sake of a price and the probability that Winter Harbor is raring to peak among the best in the division. Thus, Winter Harbor gets the call and certainly demands to be in exotics combining Marauder and Frank.

A MILLION FOR PICK 4

The special million-point Pick 4 at Mohawk that night is on the line on Sept. 17. Here are our suggestions for your ticket, starting with Race 4 through Race 7.

Race 4 is a conditioned pace. Although Sintra (8) gets the outside, he is apt to be in the thick of this mile since he is sharp now and well placed at this level. Buddha Blue Chip (3) is also a good inclusion and may offer the ticket important value.

Race 5 is explained in this week’s Breeders Crown Countdown. The value entries in a wide-open affair are Real Lucky Day (1) and Signal Hill (8).

Race 6 is an optional claiming conditioner. Nocturnal Bluechip (7) is eligible for the upcoming Little Brown Jug and has everything to gain by tuning up with a win in this easy bunch. Also raring to join those at the wire late is Mac Raider (2).

Race 7 is the Maple Leaf Trot, with our analysis above. Our outsider is Flanagan Memory (3) along with the obvious Resolve (1).

Our ticket: 3,8/1,8/2,7/1,3

A JIGGLE IN TIME

At Harrington on Monday, Sept. 19, Wiggle It Jiggleit returns to his home track having drawn the 1 hole for the $150,000 Bobby Quillen Memorial Invitation. Seven older pacers that have tried before go after the stalwart speedster, including Rockin Ron, who has the distinction in the field of being the only horse that has beaten him. As well, “Ron” is 11 wins for 20 starts, just one short of the “Wiggle” figures this season. He will have to challenge Wiggle somewhere in the mile because Wiggle is rarely short.

Of course last week Always B Miki beat Wiggle with a tough outside trip and there is enough speed in this race to supply more than one challenge. They remain to be seen but should a few attempt to go head to head with Wiggle, a big priced surprise could be produced. Oddly enough, the best value in that scenario is the 8 horse, Mel Mara. He could be an upset or a great exacta partner to Wiggle.

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

Batavia
9/16/16, +Prince Jubillee R5; +Jack Attack R6
9/17/16, +Junior Pride R2; KC Colt R6; Goodnite Goodluck R8; Catch The Wave R9

Century
9/17/16, +Lil Bit O Jingle R2; +Zapped ae R3; +Sacred Valley R8

Charlottetown
9/15/16, Howmacs Pride R2; Neal R4; Julep Hanover R8; Ideal Space R12

Dayton
9/16/16, Caviart Valley R3; Always A Camotion R4; Town Temptress R10

Freehold
9/16/16, +Kiss Kiss R4; Shanghai Jack R5; Mystical Dew R5; Cup Day Spur N R10; Smooth Finish R11

Harrington
9/19/16, Diva Demands R8

Hawthorne
9/16/16, Strong Playing King R4
 
Hoosier
9/17/16, +Wind Of The North R12

Meadowlands
9/16/16, Eastern Promise R4; Shes Heavenly R5; Macy Blue Chip R7
9/17/16, Freedombird R1; Katies Rocker R7

Northfield
6/17/16, Stormy Novel R9; Im Babys Big Girl R14; Norma Jean R15

Philadelphia
9/15/16, Market Share R10
9/16/16, Rustys Winning R8
9/18/16, +JJ Flynn R1

Plainridge
9/15/16, Scottish Blue R6; Midnite Craze R7
9/16/16, In Front Charlie R5

Red Mile
9/17/16, +Sammys Cool Win R8; +GW Watt Power R8

Rideau-Carleton
9/15/16, +Surveillance R3; Danzig Moon R5; +Mach Miss R8; Classic Novel R10

Rosecroft
9/15/16, A Lady Sizzling R2; Rethink Possible R4; Big Crystal R8; Angel Or Terror R10

Tioga
9/17/16, +White Sportscoat R1; Prairie Jaguar R5

Vernon
9/17/16, Titus Seelster R7; +Villiam Tell R15

Yonkers
9/15/16, +Simple Saver N ae R2
9/16/16, Gallant Major R3; Al Raza N R6; Topcornerterror R10

Ray Cotolo contributes to this blog