Hastings pick five carryover at $560,737 for mandatory payout day
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The 2021 Hastings meet comes to a close with eight-race cards on Monday and Tuesday. When entries were drawn for both days on Thursday, the emphasis was to have as many horses as possible running in the races that make up the pick five on Monday, when there will be a mandatory payout of the $560,737 jackpot carryover. There are almost as many horses running in the five races that make up Monday’s pick five, 40, as there are in the eight races on Tuesday, 41.
With that in mind, here is a quick look at the races that make up Monday’s pick five. One thing for sure – the total mutuel handle Monday will be the largest in years at Hastings.
Race 4: Pitch Count will be a single on many tickets in this bottom-level conditioned claimer. He just missed in a similar race, and his 59 Beyer Speed Figure stands out. The Glen Todd-trained 8-year-old wants to be involved early, but there is other potential speed in the field. Pitch Count also is looking for his first win at Hastings. If not Pitch Count, it could be Ace Deuce, who finished a disappointing fifth as the favorite in the same race Pitch Count exits.
Race 5: Jack Don’t Drink is clearly the one to beat in this bottom-level maiden claimer, but the 5-year-old Rob and Sheena Maybin homebred has had 22 kicks at the can. The lightly raced 3-year-old Harvest Day has more upside, and he is coming off a third-place finish in the best performance of his four-race career. Keepingthedream also should be part of any ticket.
Race 6: Would go deep in this highly competitive $6,250 claimer. Not Yet and Quagmire are the most likely winners, but other than Baby Grand, it would not be a shock to see any of the other horses in the eight-horse field win.
Race 7: No need to hit the all button, but you might want to use the horse The All Button, who will break from post 2 in this $6,250 conditioned claiming race. Bluegrass Angus is the best horse in the field and will be tough to beat if he shows up with his A game. He is making his first start since July 6, though, and with just one slow half-mile work since, he could be vulnerable. Sanawar, The All Button, and You Don’t Own Me are possibilities if Bluegrass Angus does not fire.
Race 8: No real standouts in this bottom-level claimer for nonwinners of two.
Walkinthewalk takes a steep plunge, and trainer Mark Cloutier has a 31-percent strike rate and $4.15 return on investment with horses dropping in value by 50 percent or more over the past five years. The Valentine Kid just missed at this level and distance Sept. 16, but he has just a single win in 22 starts for Maybin.
Airaffair dueled through honest fractions when he finished third as the favorite in the same race The Valentine Kid exits. Pineapple Tidbits is a filly facing boys, but her Beyers fit and she has been facing much tougher, particularly Rea Mea who isn’t without a chance in the $50,000 Washington Cup Filly or Mare on Sunday at Emerald Downs.