Season’s Highest Price From ‘Lady’ Winner At $119; Obrigado Best Trotter With $14 Score; 45-Percent In-The-Money Total

Two days of features and horses to watch (H2W) produced tepid win situations even with many contenders hitting the  board but anything would have been overshadowed by the lucrative performance of a filly in the first of two She’s A Great Lady elims on Aug. 27 at Mohawk. We suggested only one filly and she went on to win and paid the highest price of a winner this department has suggested so far this season.

That’s The Ticket ($119.00, $50.20, n/s/) did not need any help from traffic or tough trips from her foes as she won with a purely strong performance.

Our second “Lady” elim contender, Bid Writer (7-1) lost to the public choice.

Our other big winner for the weekend’s features came on Friday at Vernon as we scored in the Crawford Farms Trot with Obrigado ($14.80, $4.00, $2.90). Our second choice—the overwhelming favorite Hannelore Hanover ($2.90, $2.10, n/s)—beat our Rules Of The Road (41-1).

Also on Friday, at Mohawk we were second in a Casual Breeze division with Side Bet Hanover ($5.50, $3.70), who was beaten by the public choice to create and exactor worth $12.20. In the other Casual Breeze split we finished third with Jangone ($6.00).

Back to Saturday’s Mohawk action, we were off the boad with each of our Metro Pace elim choices—The Wall (6-1), Manceiver (11-1) and Deadly Action (37-1).

BREEDERS CROWN COUNTDOWN

The Breeders Crown Countdown (BCC) handled three divisions at Yonkers and the only winner in the trio of stakes was the obvious Marions Marauder ($2.60, $2.40), with Iron Mine Bucky (n/s/) third in the Yonkers Trot elim (both making next week’s final).

In the other two stakes we took third. There was, however, no show wagering in either event. For the record,  Southwind Hope (6-1) was third in the Hudson Filly Trot and  Hug A Dragoness (11-1) was third in the Lady Maud.
 
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 51 active horses (an 8-percent win hit rate and a 45-percent in-the-money 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

Uncle Hanover, $10.40, $4.80, $3.80, Pocono
Shackles N Chains, $5.00, $3.00, $2.40, Hawthorne
Hare Craft, $4.40, $3.00, $2.20, Scioto
The Royal Harry, $2.70, $2.40, $2.10, Monticello
 
Seconds

Bust The Lane, $32.60, $16.40, n/s, Hoosier
Steed, $7.60, $5.40, Pocono
Unicum B, $5.90, $3.90, Mohawk
Classic Venture, $5.60, $3.80 (Exacta $36.30), Mohawk
Yanks Ball Girl, $5.00, $4.00 (Exacta $21.80), Philadelphia
Transit Hanover, $4.60, $3.20 (Exacta $5.40), Plainridge
JDs Brent N Sheree, $4.30, $3.30, Vernon
Extreme Justice, $3.00, $2.80 (Exacta $17.60), Plainridge
Meladys Monet, $2.70, $2.80 ok (Exacta $6.40), Yonkers
 
Thirds

Fleetwood Hal, $7.10, Vernon
Lori Dorian Blues, $5.60, Running Aces
Hustling Charley, $4.00, Scioto
Lone Rider, $3.60, Century
Exclusive, $3.40, Century
McGold, $3.20, Northfield
Joes Bid, $3.10, Vernon
Cree, $2.60, Freehold
Finale Seelster, $2.30, Rideau-Carleton
Fancy Lil Mama, $2.20, Running Aces
 
News & Notes

Here is our weekly update for The Little Brown Jug. We will be updating it until the week before the event, which takes place at the Delaware, Ohio Fairgrounds on Sept. 22, the final day of the Grand Circuit’s meet at the busy half-mile track.
1-Control The Moment
2-Betting Line
3-Check Six
3-Racing Hill
4-Manhattan Beach
5-JJ Flynn
6-Katies Rocker
7-Lyons Snyder
8-Nocturnal Bluechip
9- Western Fame
10-Pure Country

It’s the last week for the season at Scioto. The Ohio harness circuit switches to Dayton Raceway’s third season with a matinee card on Monday afternoon, Sept. 12, the first of 75 programs that will be presented through closing night on Friday, Dec. 30. America’s newest track will follow a five-day-a-week schedule with Monday and Tuesday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and evening programs at 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The only schedule exceptions will be dark days Sept. 19-22 in deference to Little Brown Jug week and the substitution of Wednesday, Nov. 23, for Thursday, Nov. 24, which is Thanksgiving.

The California Horse Racing Board met recently and once again saved harness racing in the Golden State by approving the license application for the Watch and Wager LLC race meet at Cal Expo in Sacramento. The harness meet was granted Oct. 1 through Dec. 24, racing programs on Friday and Saturday nights.

Extraordinary Extras

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

Ray Cotolo contributed to this blog

For Thom Pye cartoons, informative harness history and more, click here ~