Harness: Sharp Horses and Track Trends from February 7 - February 10
MOHAWK
2/10: 1w, + closers
2/8: 2w, + closers
2/7: 1w, + closers
CINNABAR DRAGON –
Left from post 9 and was used hard to the lead in :26 3/5, chased a fast pace and weakened over a tiring track
CYCLONE JOE –
Was 7th at the half and third over, finished with solid pace for the show
UF BETTORS HANOVER –
Was 8th at the half and fourth over behind poor cover, finished with solid pace from a tough spot, last quarter in :26 4/5
PLAY JET RAY –
Was far back early and 10th at the half, followed poor cover and finished gamely
FIXED IDEA –
Was tenth and 19 lengths behind at the quarter, picked up poor cover and was moving well in the stretch finishing in :26 3/5
DOTTIE –
Trotter was 9th and far back early, followed cover and finished gamely to lose by a length
OUR VACATION –
Was 8th stuck behind poor cover, went three wide at the three quarters, finished quickly
CAL EXPO
2/8: 4w, no bias
2/7: 2w, + closers
HI HO’S LITTLE REY –
Paced a :26 4/5 opening quarter, brushed to the lead before the half, just missed
LINCOLN –
Was 9th and far back at the quarter, grinded uncovered into contention, gradually made up ground to reach the leader turning for home and drew clear gamely in a big effort
MIAMI VALLEY
2/10: 7w, no bias, off track
2/9: 7w, no bias, sloppy track
2/8: 2w, + closers, off track seemed tiring
2/7: 4w, no bias
BLAZIN BARON –
Left from post 9 and was used hard to the lead in :26 4/5, yielded to the sharp 4/5 winner at the five eighths and chased that one home clearly second best over the sloppy track
TRIXSEN GRAM –
Was 9th and fifth over behind terrible cover, rallied four wide at the three quarters and finished quickly to finish 4th only noses behind the winner in a blanket finish
GERARDO –
Left from post 5 and was four wide to the quarter in a four way early pace duel, remained parked the mile, pushed a hot pace to the half and excusably weakened on the final turn
SHAGNWITHTHEDRAGON –
Had the rail, was close to the :26 4/5 opening quarter, was 4th at the half, went first over to take the lead and weakened in this deceptively tough trip over a tiring off track
BELIEVEINYOURMACH –
Left slowly from post 9 and was parked the mile without cover, never reached the leader but held well to finish fourth, beaten only a length
WATERSIDE CHAMP*** –
Left and got caught three wide at the quarter, took back to ride cover second over while parked the mile, went three wide again at the three quarters to engage the 4/5 favorite and battled that one gamely to the wire to just miss
DOVER
2/10: 2w, + closers, sloppy track
ADMIRAL BALLSY –
Forced the first quarter from the rail then brushed to the lead before the half, kept up a quick pace over a tiring sloppy track and only lost by a length
NORTHFIELD
2/10: 6w, no bias, sloppy track
2/8: 2w, + closers, off track races 1-7, fast track races 8-16
THE MEADOWS
2/10: 1w, + closers, sloppy track
2/7: 5w, no bias, sloppy track
BUTTER BAY HANOVER –
Had post 9, followed cover third over, made up good ground through the middle-half and finished with solid pace for the place
POCONO
2/9: 3w, + closers, off track, not a pure closer’s track but off track was more tiring than usual, four horses rallied from pretty far off the pace to win
2/8: 4w, no bias, but with the early start to the meet this year, the cooler temperatures, track was not that speed favoring opening weekend
ZINNY MACH N –
Was 6th at the quarter, rushed up approaching the half, battled for the lead through a :27 3/5 third quarter, weakened late but held the show
NINE WAYS –
Left from post 8 and was used hard to the lead in :27, set the pace under pressure from the even-money favorite and didn’t tire that badly losing by two lengths
FREEHOLD
2/8: 5w, no bias
NEWBIE –
Was 6th and third over at the half, finished with solid pace for the show from a tough spot
MEADOWLANDS
2/8: 7w, no bias
2/7: 3w, + closers, wind seemed to take its toll on frontrunners, strong headwinds especially for the first eight races, first and last quarters were slower than normal
UPTOWN LADY N –
Was 9th at the half following a weak flow of cover, rallied three wide at the three quarters and finished strongly in :26 flat to miss by a neck in a game placing
EFFRONTE A –
Was 7th at the half behind a weak flow of cover, swung three wide at the three quarters and finished gamely for the show from a tough spot
SPORTS VISION –
Saved ground and was 9th at the quarter, got bottled up in traffic in the stretch, had pace
P ZONKA –
Saved ground from post 8, showed good pace closing up the rail but had to check to avoid running up on a horse, altered course and came on again for the show
IOWA NEIGHTIVE –
Left into the wind from post 5 to the early lead, yielded and was shuffled to 5th, swung out in traffic in the stretch, cleared late and finished quickly to be clearly 2nd best
MYSTICAL MOTOR –
Trotter followed cover and was 8th turning for home, rallied gamely into the wind to down the outside to nail the show
CHIEF JUSTICE –
Trotter saved ground and finished well along the inside but was taken up late
HASHTAGMADEYALOOK –
Trotter was 21-1 here shipping in from Freehold and moving up in class, followed cover and got badly blindswitched and shuffled in the stretch, was never really asked; might be worth a price in exotics, especially with a drop in class
DANGEROUSPRECEDENT –
Saved ground and was shuffled to 7th, angled clear late and finished well for the show
JK WILDFIRE –
Floated out of the gate and took an early tuck fourth, angled out behind horses in the stretch and cleared late with solid pace to get up for the show
MACHIAVELLI –
Left from post 8, was parked then took back into a tuck third at the quarter, was shuffled back to 8th, angled out in the stretch but was behind a wall of horses until late
JESSE DUKE N –
Well-regarded pacer from down under looked good in his U.S. debut, was 8th behind a slow developing flow, swung wide late on the final turn, finished quickly for the win
HAYDEN HANOVER*** –
Classy pacer had post 10 in his first start since December, floated out, tucked 6th on turn one, was shuffled back to 8th, swung out in traffic turning for home, had to angle for clearance past midstretch and finished strongly once clear
A MAJOR OMEN –
Went off as the 2-1 favorite, saved ground from post 2 and was shuffled to 7th, swung out behind horses in the stretch, had to weave to the outside to get clear late, had good pace
MONTICELLO
2/10: 5w, no bias, sloppy track
YONKERS
2/10: 6w, + speed, not a severe bias this week, but leavers and first over horses had the advantage
2/8: 7w, + speed
2/7: 6w, + speed
SHE’S PUKKA N –
Left from post 8 and was used hard to the lead in :26 4/5, yielded to the sharp winner, chased that one and weakened late, losing by three lengths; tough with better post
DRAGONOLOGY –
Went first over pushing a :27 2/5 third quarter over an off track, held okay