Meadowlands: Saturday 9/9 Analysis
Best Bet: MURMUR HANOVER (11th)
Spot Play: BETTOR CHILL OUT (4th)
FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET STATS: 122 - 312 / $578.00 (-$46.00)
BEST BETS: 17 - 25 / $54.20 (+$4.20)
Race 1
(4) EASTERN PROMISE couldn’t ask for a much easier assignment. Week after week he has been in against faster foes. The question is whether he is still interested in winning after compiling an 0 for 20 record. (1) WHAT A KNOCKOUT comes off a convincing win but will need to go faster this week. (8) MUSCLE ALMIGHTY was bet down heavy and took care of business at Pocono; facing tougher here.
Race 2
(1) ABBIJADE HANOVER lacks recent form on paper, but this guy has his career mark at The Meadowlands this year and many Ron Burke horses tend to perk up on the switch to the big track. (5) MCACE OF ARTS has the early speed to make some noise and figures to be tight after racing Tuesday. (6) ARIELLE LYNN drops out of the Opens at Yonkers.
Race 3
(6) SPLASHED destroyed a field at Pocono two starts back in his debut for the Miller barn. I’m willing to ignore the break last time on the half-mile oval at Yonkers and expect a rebound here. (4) COOGAN & (7) DEACON TONY ship in from Pocono where the competition was likely a bit better. Either seems capable if the top choice has more issues breaking.
Race 4
(6) BETTOR CHILL OUT found her form when she got class relief and now finds herself in a custom made spot with mostly younger foes. Classy mare has made almost as much as the rest of the field combined. (2) HAIL DAMAGE BLUES has proven capable of stepping up at times but she is simply not as fast as the top choice to date. (4) THAT’S HOW WE ROLL has performed reasonably well in conditioned events while struggling in stakes.
Race 5
(7) HENRY HILL caught a softer field last time and won impressively. There are no killers signed on here and a repeat seems well within his reach. (1) MR JAGERBOMBER raced well in his debut and a small step forward puts him right there tonight. (6) YO APOLLO CREED already has a 1:51 win here and should offer some value; using.
Race 6
(3) TALENT SOUP has proven himself here in the past and he is coming off a sharp mile at Philly. Maybe he just can’t go with the best 3-year-olds in New York but this field seems up his alley. (4) CALVIN B has been known to get sharp in a hurry when arriving at The Meadowlands. (5) EXPRESS STRIDE N has raced well since coming to America and his closing style might work better on the bigger track. (1) SICILY & (7) AMERICANPRIMETIME are clearly fast enough to win.
Race 7
(9) ASHLEY’S HUSBAND got some needed time off and posted a win two starts back. We can look past the parked-out mile last time from post 7 at Saratoga. This is still a horse that can pace past an entire field in the stretch and I’m not scared of any of his competitors on Saturday. (6) JACKSRLUCKYTOO is the only other horse I’m considering in here. He certainly has class and decent form. (2) WHAT I BELIEVE has a string of bad draws on his PP lines; inside post helps.
Race 8
(6) RING WARRIOR faces a soft group without much early speed. He can march down the road here. (7) VICTORY AT LAST was Miller’s choice over my top choice. (3) BUCKEYE IN CHARGE tends to wake up when he finds these weak fields.
Race 9
(2) WORKANDPLAYHARD gets a major driver change to Miller and was second with him in the bike multiple times in this class earlier in the year. (7) STAKEOUT has some excuse lines of late and he really does face a soft group tonight. (6) MOONLIGHT RANSOM is capable of winning but has lost his desire to fight in the stretch.
Race 10
(2) LAST DRAGON is unreliable but facing the weakest field he has seen in some time. I wouldn’t bet the mortgage on him but he does look best. (9) RU READY TO ROCK has dropped in class during recent weeks but got parked out last time and drew post eight in his prior start. Don’t discount his chances of gunning down the road. (6) TWINCREEKS JACK hasn’t raced well since his last efforts here. Maybe he likes the New Jersey air?
Race 11
(8) MURMUR HANOVER is the classiest and fastest horse in the field starting for new connections that typically do well with trotters. (1) JAZEBEL DE VIE raced reasonably well here back in late July/early August. (6) PLAYBOY RUSTY could be an exotics player if he minds his manners.
Race 12
(3) TWIST OF FATE goes from stakes to a very weak condition race. It’s hard to get excited about any of these but I’ll take a shot here. (2) MCFOOLERY switches to an aggressive driver and might change tactics. (6) CEDAR HALL HEIRESS is down in class but has awful form. (8) FOUR HOUR NAP has also been tackling better in recent weeks.
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