Conditioned Affairs Dominate Weekend

The next wave of Meadowlands winter series has come, even with a breath of spring in the air. The Cape & Cutter, Exit 16W and Aquarius series have been staples of this time of year at the New Jersey plant for a long time and continue under the umbrella of the track’s first private owners.  

At Woodbine, it’s another week of bonus betting on Saturday when TwinSpires players get the big 10X TSC Elite Points with winning $10 win bets. Featured on the “points program” is an event for four-year-old pacers. 

At Cal-Expo the campaign to strike big with the exclusive TwinSpires-Cal-Expo no-takeout Pick 4 ensues.   

As well, we have new members of our Watch List (H2W) and we make you privy to them for profit’s sake.  

Meadowlands Miles

The Meadowlands features the first leg of the Exit 16W and Cape & Cutter on Friday, Feb. 3 and on Saturday, Feb. 4 features one leg of the Aquarius.  

In the first Exit 16W, Bolero Andrew looks like he’ll take some play. Flowmaster looks good coming out of the Clyde Hirt series. He did not do well in the final but was a major presence in the event’s two legs. He should improve among the four-year-old horse pacers in this group.  

In the second Exit 16W division, there is no clear favorite. Rhombus comes in here with a nice performance in the Clyde Hirt Final. He also did well in the legs.  

In the third Exit 16W division, Mickey Hanover will take some action. Most likely not taking a lot of wagers is Hi Sir, but he has a good shot coming in to this race. He was sharp his last time out, closing to finish a close fourth. He has a chance to upset.  

In the nightcap Exit 16W division, Special T Rocks and Itrustyou will be heavily bet, as they are coming off of big wins in winter finals. We are following the progress of Joe De Fino, who should get lighter play than in his previous efforts. He raced well coming into his four-year-old campaign but did worse in the next start. If he sits off the pace he should pace another great race and maybe a win at a big price.  

In the first Cape & Cutter split (for three-year-old-and-up filly-and-mare pacers), Higher And Higher will get most of the public’s attention. To her outside is Ocean Motion, a horse who came from the lower ranks. She has done much damage in Opens at Yonkers. She could sit close to Higher And Higher and pull off the upset.  

In the second and only other Cape & Cutter split, Ginger And Fred should get favorite status. Omen Hanover, however, has a good shot after a terrible race. In the stretch, she was rolling well then checked and lost ground. She can’t be behind a wall of horses if she’s closing tonight. Also watch Royal Cee Cee N. She shipped to America last year and has not done too well with the free-for-all ranks. She looks good coming into this conditioned affair and may be able to defy that record tonight.  

On Saturday in the Aquarius leg (four-year-old pacers), Westwardho Hanover is the one to beat. He comes south after a big win at Woodbine, where he has been gunning on the engine when possible. But we won’t overlook Townslight Hanover. He raced well against older last week, closing hard to finish second at 20-1 in “non-winners of $22,750L5.” He should do well tonight. Also watch Sir Ziggy’s Z Tam. With a mid-pack positioning he could close better than he has from farther back. He should do well in the exotics. 

WEGZ Legs

Woodbine’s WEGZ series launches three divisions in its first leg on Saturday. This conditioned event, with $20,000 for each split, is for four-year-old-and-up pacers that are non-winners of $50,000 ($75,000 for sophs of 2011). 

In the first leg, Topcornerterror returns after finishing best of the rest last week, 10 lengths behind the winner and at 65-1. He draws the rail and if he steers clear of being stuffed he could dominate the nine others with a late rush. 

In the second WEGZ leg, Prana comes back after a well-needed mile last week where he was short at 5-1 due to a tiresome outside rush to the seven-eighths. A careful drive brings him home at a price. 

Finally, Gunpowder exploded in his recent win, with a strong outside brush for the lead late and a good last quarter, returing 12-1 for the effort, which buried the 8-5 choice. Take him right back in this affair. 

Once again this Saturday, Woodbine players at TwinSpires will receive 10X TSC Elite Points for cashing $10-win tickets. This bonus continues until forbid, giving players more for their money by putting precious points along with profits in their accounts.

All Along The Watchtower

Our Watch List (H2W) has been producing some fine double-digit winners along with its share of public choices. Here are a few new entries to our personal H2W for TwinSpires players.  

Buffalo Raceway
Mudriggin, Feb. 3, Race 8
Redford Hall, Feb. 4, Race 5
Twotowin, Feb. 4, Race 6
Allamerican Improv, Feb. 4, Race 10

Pompano Harness
Joey Hackett, Blue Boy, Feb. 4, Race 4
Rudy Valentino, Feb. 4, Race 7
Bob Lee, Feb. 4, Race 9
Big Bam Ray, Yankees In Six, Feb. 4, Race 10 

Cal Exotic

The Feb. 4 no-takeout Pick 4 at Cal-Expo once again challenges us in an effort to take down the pool. Here are our suggested contenders with comments:

Leg 1
(4) Jet Tet Tet closed well for third last week, likes this track and is due to pick up some bigger checks. (6) Roger J won at 7-1 last week but did it like he should have been 4-5 with a huge brush at the half. (7) Hanover DGN was well backed and placed.

Leg 2
(1) Irish Whiskey had early foot but hung as the choice and still took second. (5) Dreaming Of Amy is a rank outsider but must be respected off of a 21-1 race where he dueled early to be the leader, a move that used him up but warned of better miles ahead.

Leg 3
(5) Devilish Donnie is a good single in this crew. He shared a dead heat for fourth last week but got that far with an overland journey. He loves this track and seems to dominate this lacking-in-class field.

Leg 4
(3) Desired Result could not close the deal last week while respected at 3-1. Finishing third was not embarrassing, though, and another chance to do well has surfaced. (4) Preciosita made a strong move that was moot but cannot be dismissed if a better trip is in the works here.

Ray Cotolo contributed to this article