Yonkers: Analysis for Wednesday 4/12

MEET STATS: 54 - 217 / $378.00 (-$56.00)
BEST BETS: 7 - 22 / $23.40 (-$20.60)
SPOT PLAYS: 4 - 22 / $42.90 (-$1.10)
BEST BET - RIVER OF DENILE (12th)
SPOT PLAY - SWANSEA (11th)

Race 1 - 50000CLM Trot

(3) EPOS OSTERVANG DK makes his second start back after a layoff for high-percentage connections tonight, and I would expect him to be sharper after finishing second on March 22. (1) LUCKY WEEKEND has been in the top three in all of his starts here in March and April and drew the pole to help his cause tonight. (2) ALTUS HANOVER prevailed in his first appearance of 2023 at Pocono on 4-4 and did tally over $75,000 claimers at Yonkers last August.

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Race 2 - F&M NW4/50000LT / F&M NW2/25000LT Drawn Inside Pace

(3) DINNER AND DANCING downed NW1 company at Woodbine Mohawk Park back in February and has a couple of pretty good qualifiers over the track with the trainer driving. She gets Jordan Stratton in the bike here. (5) COALFORDSNSHINE GB cruised to a facile victory over NW2's at Yonkers last Wednesday for her first U.S. win and could definitely double up here. (1) HIGH FASHION STAR won three of her five efforts as a 2-year-old and qualified well at Pocono on 4-5. She was Jason Bartlett's pick over my top selection.

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Race 3 - John Brennan Series Trot

(6) HOOLIE N HECTOR was victorious in leg one of this series a week ago and had little issue overcoming an outside post, so the six-hole doesn't bother me too much. I will use him again. (7) SPICY NUGGET is another one of the winners from last week and has prevailed seven times in eight starts overall this year. With Yannick Gingras not at Yonkers tonight, Dexter Dunn comes in to handle him. (2) BRAVE BY DESIGN had to settle for second to HOOLIE N HECTOR last Wednesday, and I will slot him underneath again despite the inside draw.

Race 4 - John Brennan Series Trot

(4) LEXUS MARKUS made an early break and lost all chance to contend last Wednesday. His lack of points should give the connections extra motivation for a good performance tonight, and he shows racing multiple times at the top level out of Northfield. He also picks up a new driver in Dunn. (6) UNEVERGONNAGETHIS finished full of trot to grab a second in leg one of this event. He was a winner in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Series in 2022, so he has plenty of class, and I'll include. (5) TACHYON showed last week that when he minds his manners that he's very talented as he blew by a heavy favorite to win at 12-1.

Race 5 - 3-5YO 50000CLM HCP Pace

(4) SOUTHWIND PETYR tallied the last time he raced in this class in mid-March and drops out of tougher spots both here and at Pocono. (2) STELLAR YANKEE converted a pocket trip into a win at this level on 3-29 and drew another good post tonight. (6) COALITION HANOVER suffered broken equipment a week ago and never had a chance because of that. He was racing very well before that and is definitely usable.

Race 6 - John Brennan Series Trot

(5) PRIMADONNA DEO dominated NW4 foes here at Yonkers for her first victory of 2023 on March 30 and after missing round one of this series will need to pick up some points tonight. I'll put her on top. (3) SHARE THE WEALTH was a good second after making multiple moves last Wednesday and Matt Kakaley, who has gotten along well with him, is back in the bike again. (4) SWAN FLYER saw his win streak end a week ago as he had to settle for third. That might boost his price a bit tonight as Dunn takes over the lines.

Race 7 - John Brennan Series Trot

(3) OUTSIDE THE FIRE kept his hot streak going with another win in the first leg of this event, and I think he's probably the one to beat out of all of them. He'll be my top selection again here. (6) PAPPARDELLE makes his second start of 2023 here and was a good, closing second in the flight won by TACHYON last Wednesday. (5) FIREINSIDEMYVEINS raced in third throughout and wound up finishing in that position a week ago. He's won at Yonkers several times before, so I will include.

Race 8 - F&M NW7/77941LT Pace

(4) TONY'S MOM showed improvement in her first start out of the Per Engblom barn a week ago, and meets up with a group here that I think she can beat. (5) MCNATURAL L defeated $50,000 claimers in her first start in from Northfield on April 4 and squeezed into this race by a dollar as she's earned $77,940 lifetime. (6) FRANTASY HANOVER has won at Yonkers a few times but comes in off two money-burning defeats at Pocono at odds-on, so I'll try and beat her.

Race 9 - John Brennan Series Trot

(1) ARMSTEAD COLE gained several spots and ground in the last quarter in the division won by OUTSIDE THE FIRE a week ago, and since I think so highly of that horse, I have to use this one tonight, especially with the shift to the pole position. He also shows racing in the Open once out at Miami Valley. (2) WHAT SHOULD I GOO won handily when she drew inside at Pocono on March 18 and shifts to post two after having the eight-hole and the six-hole in her last two appearances. (6) P L OSCAR was victorious in a split of the first round of the series, showing that his rise to the Open class at Yonkers was no accident. He'll contend again.

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Race 10 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Trot

(5) MOSTINTERESTINGMAN lands at the bottom level here and has post relief to go with it after starting from the nine-hole most recently at the Meadowlands. Trainer Ricky Bucci has done well with class droppers like this all meet, and I am expecting the light to come on for this 10-year-old. (2) ILBENEEDINSTITCHES ships over from Pocono off a win over NW2500L5 company for connections that often have horses ready to fire. (3) GREG hasn't done much since that second-place finish against NW8's back in 2-2 but could definitely come to life again in this spot.

Race 11 - 50000CLM Trot

(6) SWANSEA finished up his mile last week with trot and makes his second start back after a short stint on the shelf. He's had lots of success at Yonkers before and hopefully can strike again tonight. (3) ZIG ZAG had to do the first-over work into a slow tempo last Wednesday but won anyway at this level. He gets some post relief off that mile here. (1) PC FREE WHEELING had every chance to prevail a week ago but couldn't hold off ZIG ZAG. She has defeated $50,000 claimers before, but I'll slot her underneath here.

Race 12 - NW7500L5/Winners in Last Start of the Base Class NW5000L5 Trot

(1) RIVER OF DENILE romped over at the Meadowlands in her second attempt out of the Engblom barn and will get top billing from me in the nightcap. (6) NEXTROUNDSONME hit the board a couple of times against NW7500L5 foes at the Meadowlands and has won several times in the past at Yonkers. (5) FULL RIGHTS gets to slide down from the NW10000L5 level and is always capable of showing that good gate speed he has.