Yonkers: Analysis for Wednesday 2/28

MEET STATS: 26 - 107 / $145.70 (-$68.30)
BEST BETS: 4 - 10 / $17.90 (-$2.10)
SPOT PLAYS: 0 - 10 / $0.00 (-$20.00)
BEST BET - STONEBRIDGE BRAVO (1st)
SPOT PLAY - HURRIKANE LADY LOU (10th)

Race 1 - Winners of 2 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT Trot

(3) STONEBRIDGE BRAVO was second in his debut for Burke on 2-14 and then improved off that to a facile victory a week ago in a similar class. I will give him top call. (4) CASSIUS HANOVER makes his second start of 2024 tonight and raced well in a second-place finish to STONEBRIDGE BRAVO last week. (2) CAL MILES N SHELL cut the fractions and wound up second as the favorite last Wednesday. He was Jordan Stratton's choice of a pair in here.

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Race 2 - Winners of 6 but not more than 9 PM Races or 125000LT Trot

(2) FIX A DRINK is a first-timer out of the Per Engblom barn and was racing well in some tough classes north of the border. (4) MANCLANE has back-to-back victories for Burke and has been sharp for quite a while overall. Stratton takes over the driving tonight as Yannick Gingras has to pilot FIX A DRINK since he is a co-owner. (3) BONTONI DEGATO S debuts for trainer Mark Ford after selling in an online auction. He won four straight for Engblom before being sold and retains Jason Bartlett in the bike.

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Race 3 - 15000CLM Pace

(1) SWAGASAURUS REX came up flat last Wednesday but moves to the pole tonight and makes his second appearance out of a high-percentage barn. I'll give him another shot. (6) SMOKIN BY N owns on-the-board finishes in three out of his last four outings and made up a ton of ground in his second-place finish a week ago. (3) FULLBACK has shown the ability to threaten in this class before and perhaps a more aggressive approach is coming as he switches pilots to George Brennan.

Race 4 - NW7500L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW5000L5 Pace

(1) KEAYANG KAMIKAZE A performed well in his first two starts in the U.S. over at the Meadowlands earlier this month. He qualified twice at Yonkers, so he's familiar with the oval, has the pole and adds Bartlett. (7) KARLOO BRADLEY N drew poorly but drops out of the NW10000L5 level off a fourth-place result on 2-14. (3) LYRICAL GENIUS A has a post relief/class drop combo this time and is back on a regular racing schedule after being off since January 29 coming into his last appearance on February 20.

Race 5 - F&M NW2/25000LT Pace

(1) NIRVANA HANOVER joins the Engblom barn off three straight top-three finishes down at Dover, including a victory on January 3. She has been off since 1-31, but I will trust she's ready to fire and put on top. (5) VARSITY BLUE CHIP rallied to tally a week ago in her second career start and still probably has further room to improve. (2) SILKEN SMILE struggled on January 24 but has performed very well other than that so far. She gets reunited with Gingras tonight as Bartlett opted to handle NIRVANA HANOVER.

Race 6 - Winners of 2 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT / NW2 or 25000LT Drawn Inside Trot

(2) YOU GOT IT raced well last Wednesday in his first start of 2024 by finishing third to my top pick from race one. He moves inside on the gate here off that effort. (3) TOMBSTONE broke before the start on 2-14 but had been in sharp form prior to that. Bartlett won with him on December 20 and is in the bike for the first time since then tonight. (4) MR KNOWITALL gained spots in the final quarter to collect a third against NW4's at Pocono on the 19th of February. Matt Kakaley steered him that afternoon and has the call again.

Race 7 - 15000CLM Pace

(4) ATLANTIS has won in his last two efforts against $15,000 claiming company and merits top billing against another beatable group here. (8) PRESTIGE SEELSTER rebounded off a couple of poor efforts to score a week ago. He has found the winner's circle for Dennis Laterza twice now and remains in his barn. (1) SHOREVIEW was third in this class on February 7 and moves to the pole after a couple of poor draws.

Race 8 - NW10000L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5 Pace

(4) HIMSELF N wound up first-over into a slow pace and had to settle for fifth last Wednesday. I think he'll offer a better price tonight and is worthy of another chance in the hopes of a smoother journey. (2) MIRRAGON A makes his second start on Lasix and drops out of the NW15000L5 class off a gaining third-place result most recently. (1) GREAT SOMEWHERE disappointed at 2-5 on the 16th of February but won impressively over at the Meadowlands prior to that and was Stratton's choice over MIRRAGON A.

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Race 9 - Stake Your Claim Final 15000CLM / 25000CLM Price Pace

(6) NEVER SAY NEVER N ended up two-for-two in this series, but I think he might offer some value given a shift outside on the gate here. (2) I'M J BEE N will likely be favored as he is on a three-race streak of victories. Laterza claimed him out of his triumph a week ago and got Brennan to steer again. (1) NOB HILL FLASH didn't tally in the prelims but starts from post one and has hit the board in four out of his last five outings.

Race 10 - F&M Winners of 3 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT Pace

(7) HURRIKANE LADY LOU didn't have any luck at the draw again but gained spots in the final quarter of her first start of 2024 last week, and I'll bank on a different strategy and improvement coming tonight. She beat NW6 company at Yonkers last July, so I think she is a good fit at this level if she fires. (4) ULTIMATE SPEED is three-for-four in the win column locally and also prevailed at Woodbine Mohawk Park on 1-5. I expect she'll be a heavy favorite. (2) BETTA WATCH OUT N had to settle for a runner-up result last Wednesday but it was still a good effort in her first try in this class.