Cotolo’s Harness Review, News And Notes
We warned you against a Pet Rock bet if he won that and made
the final, so if you followed us you passed, because Pet Rock was bet down to a
prohibitive choice and he finished third to Michaels Power. All in all, that
was a pretty good hit, since 5-2 was very fair odds and we can feel good about
the prediction and pass to have stayed in the black.
At Tioga in the Empire Breeders Championship finals, we were
nosed out by a favorite and beaten by a longshot. Top-choice Heston Blue Chip
won the colt division, with our 10-1 shot, Breakin The Law second. If you so
cared for an exacta using the big choice on top you were handed only $8.60 for
the combo. The filly division, however, saw an 18-1 shot, Better B Lucky,
defeat the giant entry of Romantic Moment and American Jewel. We liked Romantic
Moment best of the pair and that is who battled it out at the wire with the
longshot. It was a thin nose, a hair, a nano-inch [sic] with “Lucky” on the
winning side.
Friday night the New Jersey Sires Stakes (NJSS) for freshmen
at the Meadowlands saw every one of our suggested contenders in play but only
one winning.
Frosh-filly trotter Shared Past won, paying one of the best
price of the eight NJSS events at $9. In order of best finish, our other
selections included seconds from Hilarious Hayley (5-1), Rockmyjeans (6-1),
Don’t Ya Know (3-1) and Deadliest Catch (7-1), a third by Miss Lauren (4-1) and
two fourths, Viva De Vie (7-1) and Rocky Mountain Guy (11-1).
In three Bavaria Downs New York Sires Stakes for frosh-filly
trotters, we had only a second, Crazy Grigio (5-1). Proclaiming Artist (big
favorite) broke and was eliminated and Palm Beach Chic (4-1) was fifth.
The Sobeys Gold Cup & Saucer is set at Charlottetown Driving Park for
Saturday, Aug. 18. Watch our blog Thursday for comments on the event.
Rebounding
from her Hambletonian Oaks debacle, Check Me Out won at the Meadows in a
Pennsylvania Sires Stake (PASS) division. It was a stake-record mile of 1:53.4.
In the “Oaks,” Check Me Out was in front when, said driver Tim Tetrick, she
brushed and spun a knee boot, which eventually dropped to her foot. She began
to run, got back on stride and finished third but was placed eighth for
interference. In 25 races and 21 victories, she never finished worse than
second.“That was a freak deal,” Tetrick said. “She just took a bad step.”
She was unchallenged in the PASS, drawing off to win by more than 6 lengths. Ray Schnittker trains Check Me Out, now a winner of over $1.5 million.
San Pail, the 2011 Horse of
the Year, sidelined due to injury this season, will be returning to the races
in a couple of weeks, according to trainer Rod Hughes. “He got a clean bill of
health. He’s never missed a day of jogging but we need to get some fast miles
into him, so we’ll likely ship him into Mohawk a few times then qualify him. I
also plan to qualify him twice and then go from there.”
We may see San Pail at the
Grand Circuit meet at The Red Mile, where he can race in the Allerage and then,
if all works out, he is scheduled to return to the Breeders Crown for his division.
Googoo Gaagaa also returned to the track
victoriously when the pacer-sired trotter captured a $20,555 Maryland
Standardbred Race Fund event in 1:57.4 at Ocean Downs. With Corey Callahan
driving for trainer Richard Hans, “Googoo” won easily on the half-mile over
Windshield, an undefeated Maryland-based colt. Googoo was making his first
start since breaking stride in the Stanley Dancer Memorial at the Meadowlands.
The Zweig Memorial for glamour-boy trotters and its filly version will have both a new location and format this year. Raced on Sunday, Aug. 26 at Vernon Downs for the first time, the race is expected to attract the top sophs in the division.
This will be the first “Zweig” where the conditions dictate that only the top money earners of 2012 can compete in the main events. This year, too, consolations are available for the others.
As August dips into
September, people are already talking Little Brown Jug fields. It seems fairly
obvious to anyone following the sport which colts should be involved. So far,
the top contenders have not committed to being in Ohio for the event but if any
of them are there we may be looking for some of the event’s fastest heats.
Among the possibles are A Rocknroll Dance, Hurrikane Kingcole, Michaels Power,
Sweet Lou, Bolt The Duer, Dapper Dude, Thinking Out Loud, Bettors Edge, Time To
Roll and Allstar Legend.
The clock is ticking to
start the countdown for the Breeders Crown. Click
here for the foreword to the exclusive Breeders Crown Countdown blog.
Extraordinary Extras
We invite you to enjoy our musings on other standardbred
topics at my Hoof Beats blog titled Vast Performances. Every
weekend as part of that blog we we offer Balmoral Pick-4-and-win picks at the
USTA’s Strategic Wagering Program
page which includes suggested win bets. Last week we hit with
Captain Obvious at $20.20, BP Giant Fool at $7, Ice Scrape at $3.60 and Brooklyn's Desire at $3.60..
Connect to Twitter and follow Frank and Ray Cotolo for up-to-the-minute
suggestions on wagers at many harness raceways. Then, wager from your
TwinSpires accounts.
Get onto our mailing list and receive a free copy of a
classic horseracing fiction book by clicking here.
Cartoon by Thom Pye
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