Yonkers: Analysis for Wednesday 1/13

FINAL 2020 MEET STATS: 219 - 696 / $1,358.10 (-$33.90)
BEST BETS: 39 - 72 / $134.20 (-$5.80)
SPOT PLAYS: 14 - 72 / $105.10 (-$38.90)
BEST BET - CAY'S BLESSING (3rd)
SPOT PLAY - SWANS HONEY (4th)

Race 1 - F&M NW2/25000LT Pace

(1) ACEFORTYFOUR RIVER had a win and a second in her final two starts of 2020 and drew the advantageous pole position for the first try of her 4-year-old campaign. (4) UNSTOPPABLE HALL won two straight over NW2's on 12-1 and 12-8, then had a tough outside draw against NW4's. She gets to drop out of that class here and appears a logical threat. (6) LAINIE HANOVER ships down from Canada into the Scott Blackler barn, something we've seen work well with a number of horses in the past. She starts from a tough post, especially with the main dangers inside, but I'll include.

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Race 2 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Trot

(4) THE ROYAL POZE gained spots and ground in the last quarter in that mile on 12-15 and gets a driver switch to Bartlett tonight. (2) MISS YOU KELLY starts from an inside post tonight and showed the ability to grab a couple of checks against NW7500L5's in the fall. (5) ARCHIBALD won pretty easily against NW5000L5's back on December 7 but went downhill after that. He gets reunited with Stratton, and I'll include.

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Race 3 - F&M NW5000L5/12500CLM Pace

(3) CAY'S BLESSING overcame post eight to win the last time she met up with NW5000L5's on 10-27 and exits a strong second-place effort at the Meadowlands. (6) MISS IRISH ROSE A closed well in her two miles in this class in December and seems overdue for a more forwardly-placed try. (5) COVEREDNDIAMONDS N closed out her 2020 campaign with a win on 12-22 and is back in for the optional claiming tag here, allowing her to remain at the bottom level.

Race 4 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Trot

(2) SWANS HONEY rallied pretty well from post eight in her one local start on 12-14 and picks up Joe Bongiorno tonight after racing in an amateur event at Freehold most recently. (3) FIJI has been performing better since he changed barns to Noel Daley's, and Brennan got along with him well down at Freehold as they finished second on New Year's Day. (4) SKYWAY TINACIOUS plunges in class after trying NW6's at Yonkers and NW5's at Harrah's Philadelphia since joining the Rob Harmon barn, and I think she could step up her game.

Race 5 - NW7500L5/Winners in Last Start of the Base Class NW5000L5/15000CLM Trot

(1) TAD KRAZY HANOVER showed that her win on 12-1 over NW5000L5's was no accident as she rallied from seventh to third in the last quarter in a subsequent appearance in this class. Scott Zeron went elsewhere after driving her last time, but I don't mind Bartlett being the replacement. (2) BLENHEIM got the nod from Zeron, and I certainly respect that as this 8-year-old gelding drops out of the NW10000L5's. (4) MR COOL SEAEYRE N came through with an improved performance when he slid down to the NW7500L5 level on 12-15, and his third-place finish against NW9300L5's at Pocono on Halloween sticks out some when compared to the rest of these.

Race 6 - F&M NW4/50000LT Pace

(7) SOMEBEACHSOMEFRA beat NW4's with authority on the 22nd of December, and she may offer a bit of value she otherwise wouldn't given the outside draw. Hopefully George Brennan has aggressive tactics in mind again. (1) MOANING LISA was third against NW4's in a local appearance on 11-10 and then had two thirds and a win versus NW3's and NW5's at Harrah's Philadelphia. She is definitely usable from the pole position. (6) READY SET ROCK scored just a single victory in 2020 but has been hitting the board with regularity in this class, and I will slot underneath.

Race 7 - F&M NW8/100000LT Pace

(6) DEMETER N got hot to close out 2020, including three wins in four starts at Yonkers. I'll bank on her picking up where she left off. (8) MSAMRCASWEETHART A qualified well at the Meadowlands and then backed it up with an impressive win down at Freehold. Obviously this is a tough post to overcome, but I like what I've seen from her thus far, and I respect her connections. (4) NEW YEAR burned a lot of money as an odds-on favorite in all three of her tries in December, so I think you have to play against her to win, which I definitely will.

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Race 8 - F&M NW5000L5/12500CLM Pace

(1) MORE THAN MANY switches to the pole position here after having nothing but outside posts since October 27. She posted just a one-for-23 mark a year ago, but she got a key vote of confidence by keeping Zeron's services, and I will follow his lead. (8) ASHTINI didn't have any luck at the draw, but this is a significantly easier spot than the ones she's been in lately, and she won comfortably the last time she got to try the NW5000L5 level on the 15th of October. (7) THE LADY SHERIFF tossed in the one clunker on 12-3 but has been sharp other than that and has shown the versatility to both close well and to race on or near the lead.

Race 9 - NW10000L5/Winners in Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5/20000CLM Trot

(2) MOSTINTERESTINGMAN wound up a nose short of the win on 12-11 against NW15000L5's. He was 1-9 on that day, and given he gets further class relief here, I'll take the same price and expect him to deliver. (5) ZOOMING picked up a check against some tough foes at the Meadowlands on the 26th of December and shifts back over to Yonkers tonight. He was good here late in 2020, scoring a win and a second-place finish. (7) MONEY MAVEN is another one coming in from the Meadowlands. I think he prefers the half-mile oval at this point in his career and just missed by a nostril the last time he raced at this level on December 1.

Race 10 - F&M NW7500L5/Winners in Last Start of the Base Class NW5000L5/15000CLM Pace

(4) KEENE OLIVIA hooks up with Bartlett for the first time since they teamed up for a win on 11-5, and I'll hope for a price in this wide-open nightcap. (5) CRYSTAL SPARKLES N switches drivers to Zeron and had a second and a third in this class two and three starts back. (3) PITTSTOP DANIKA rarely wins, but she did hit the ticket in five of her final seven tries in 2020.