by Frank Cotolo
The peak of the sophomore-stakes season, in my humble opinion, is here. Not that the rest of the year won’t be plentiful with high-profile events but after the biggest three trots and paces, the public will have a better grasp upon certain horses since by the second week in August many stars will have emerged.
The North America Cup holds its eliminations on June 20 so as to launch the first $1-million pacing event of 2009. With the division talent now scattered except for a few of last year’s freshmen that are second-string early choices (since the top two choices are uncertain to start at all this year).
Keep your eyes open for those pacing colts that may not make it to the “Cup” elims (we don’t have the draws at press time). Some of those are Art Colony, who finished second in a Burlington split on June 13; Sheer Desire, who returned with some questionable health issues but is aiming at the Cup; Schoolkids, who has been showing life in Canada; along with the top contenders Dial Or Nodial, who lost the New Jersey Classic on June 13 to Passmaster Hanover, and Well Said, who finished off the board in a June 13 Burlington.
We will cover the North America Cup elims next week, looking for any probable colts going to the final that may be overlooked, offering good prices. The elims will also serve as a review for July’s $1-million Meadowlands Pace, further testing this division’s participants. It is not any stretch of the imagination to find a horse not making the Cup final but showing enough improvement or being burdened by a bad trip to strike a victory in the “Pace,” and other upcoming stakes.
Hambo-watch
Now more of our exclusive views of soph colts and fillies on the road to the Hambletonian as potential Hambo and Hambo Oaks participants keep coming and offer great betting opportunities.
The trotting glamour group of colts continues to race in herds thanks to sires stakes and overnights that feature the debut of some former-frosh champs, all tuning up for the big dance the first Saturday in August. These are the great betting races, as we emphasized in last week’s column, and as predicted, they are offering some great values. This past week it was proved when the hot action in the soph-colt-trotting division presented seven Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS) events at Pocono.
The standardbred press was glowing over two world records that night but one of them, by Caviar Crown, wasn’t as wonderful to witness to his backers who collected $15.20 for his win. This Kris Rickert-trained colt got a perfect trip behind the prohibitive favorite, Top Chef, beating that one in the stretch. This baby trip may not indicate Caviar Crown’s greatness as much as it elevates the odds for Top Chef next out. But the big public choice was a good bet-against favorite that night and a 6-1 third choice (only by a dollar) made perfect sense. Keep that in mind as these races ensue.
Also, in that race, Jaavos Boy, who has shown some early spunk in this class as noted in this column, broke on the go at three-quarters, racing at 33-1. Watch this one come back at a huge price.
Favorite Keystone Activator broke at the start of his PASS episode and although that could not be handicapped, it set forth the launching of Broadway Bistro’s winning mile at 7-1. Again, the wagering on the choice was so heavy that the next two choices were almost tied around 7-1. Even not knowing Keystone Activator would bust, the colts finishing first and third –by the way, the show horse was Photoforwin who we have been touting here—were the value bets.
Tagyoureit Hanover is a son of Tagliabue, the colt that won the Hambletonian the year CR Kay Suzie broke in an elim and didn’t make the final. Kudos to veteran driver Howard Parker for picking up the drive on this promising colt that won as the second choice at 3-1 while the favorite raced miserably.
The return of frosh-star Explosive Matter (EM) was successful as he won easily with Road Rash (that 75-1 shocker from a few weeks back) coming in second here at 11-1. “Rash” broke in his last effort and we urged you bet him back. We didn’t think Rash would come up against EM but at 11-1, the $9 Exacta was a gift, even boxed.
In the race won by favorite Salutation Hanover, the 8-1 shot, The Vatican, was all out to challenge from the 8 hole but jumped while smoothly moving first over at three-quarters. Dewayne Minor’s student is a must bet-back if the public continues to ignore him.
Another son of the productive sire SJ’s Caviar is Triumphant Caviar, who finished second in another PASS, this one a victory by Shermans Mountain at odds-on money. Personally, I do not like “Mountain” as much as the colt his beat by only three-quarters of a length.
Hambo first ahead?
Anette Lorentzon is a trainer with eyes on the Hambletonian. Could she become the first female trainer to condition a Hambletonian winner?
She is a 26-year-old native of Sweden, where trotters rule, and she is high on two colts she is racing with designs on making it to the $1.5-million race: Vesuvio AS and Howthehaloareyou.
Vesuvio AS already has $140,710 in earnings. In his first major stakes test, the son of the ill-fated, trotting-triple-crown winner Windsong’s Legacy was second after cutting the mile in the Dexter Cup in May. Two weeks later he recorded a romp in the first leg of a New Jersey Sires Stakes.
“Vesuvio AS raced well as a two-year-old, Lorentzon said, “and showed me speed. But he got lame and sick. We turned him out. He trained down really good in Florida and we tried to get him ready for the Dexter Cup. I was very happy with his effort in that final.”
Although Howthehaloareyou has yet to win this season, he has hit the board in four of 10 starts. He is a son of Yankee Glide who Lorentzon said, “was just unlucky last year. He was beaten by a neck at the Red Mile [in a Bluegrass] and that’s why he’s a maiden. He finished very strongly in his first start back.”
Lorentzon came to the US some five years ago and began working with Trond Smedshammer. She has had her own stable for four years now has 35 horses in training, more than half of them freshmen. She said, “You need a lot of patience with trotters but we’re aiming for the big races like the Hambletonian. That’s what we dream about.”
On June 13, Vesuvio AS finished fourth and Howthehaloareyou finished seventh in a sires stakes won by Muscle Hill.
Wager log
Our freebee last week, Eagle Luck was an 87-1 shot at Mohawk and finished off the board on June 13.
The New Jersey Classic Final went to Passmaster Hanover and our hopes that Sombrero Blue Chip could pick up pieces against that one and Dial Or Nodial were unfounded. Our choice went off at 22-1, by the way.
In the Art Rooney Final at Yonkers, Venice Menace was dull as the overwhelming favorite, Hypnotic Blue Chip broke on the lead late and handed the race over to If I Can Dream, the second choice.
Don’t forget to check out harness turf racing at the Meadowlands on Friday, June 19. Eight $15,000 claiming pacers go on the grass.
For more than three decades, Frank Cotolo has been active in pari-mutuel racing as a player and an author. Aside from articles in Gambling Times, Sulky and Turf & Sport, he was the editor of TIMES: in harness magazine (in print and on line) for fifteen years and won a John Hervey Award—the industry’s top writing honor.
The opinions of Youbet Update writers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Youbet.com or its subsidiaries.
