Yonkers: Monday 1/13 Analysis

MEET STATS: 9 - 24 / $43.00 (-$5.00)
2019 BEST BETS: 2 - 2 / $8.20 (+$4.20)
2019 SPOT PLAYS: 0 - 2 / $0.00 (-$4.00)
BEST BET - GLOBALDOMINATION N (6th)
SPOT PLAY - SECRECY (8th)
Race 1 - 12500CLM Pace
(7) DON MCWHITE cut the fractions and was second in his first start of 2020 last Monday. He does move outside on the gate here, but he won nicely from post six back in December and appears to have enough early foot to get the lead or at least an up-close position. (3) HORSING AROUND wound up first-over in the same race Don McWhite exits a week ago and held third. Kakaley drives again tonight and maybe he can work out an easier trip this time. (1) JK HEAVEN SENT tailed off to end his 6-year-old campaign and makes his initial appearance this year tonight. He was able to beat $20,000 claimers in November and was a big threat at this level prior to that, so he does have the credentials if good enough.
Race 2 - NW2/25000LT Pace
(4) JOHNNY CHIMPO seems to be heading the right way since Richie Johnson took over the training. He had pace finishing last Monday and made up ground. He does lose Bartlett tonight, but maybe that'll help the price a bit with Stratton going in the bike. (5) JONAH showed improvement a week ago, leading and finishing as the runner-up to a determined winner. Dube takes over tonight, and he'll probably be going forward off the gate again. (3) FRISKY PEDRO nearly beat NW3's back on 12-16, so he gets to drop down off that nice performance. He was Bartlett's choice in this contest.
Race 3 - NW4/50000LT Pace
(3) MOTIVE HANOVER was in a pretty strong NW4 a week ago and ended up first-over in the third quarter. He held third on the outside and gets into a bit softer-looking NW4 this time. I'll give him a shot and hope Kakaley has the winning plan. (2) LOUD SPLASH followed the cover of Motive Hanover in that event last Monday and was unable to gain in the last quarter. I'll take a similar approach with him as I did with my top pick and bank on this spot being more conducive to a better performance. (4) TAP TAP TAP could easily win this race, but he gave way and was soundly defeated by a longshot after clearing to the lead last week at odds-on, and so I will try and beat him.
Race 4 - 20000CLM Pace
(5) MACHLICIOUS got on a good roll during the fall but began to regress in late November and December. He's been freshened up since then and he drops a bit in class, so I'll use him on top. (6) ONLYTHETUFFSURVIVE decimated that group of $20,000 claimers to kick off his year with a bang. Banca enters him for the same tag, and since he won from post seven two back, the move from the pole position to the six-hole wouldn't appear to be an issue. (3) PROLOGUE was a rare Allard horse who wasn't in top form last Monday, but he also was jammed up on stalled cover. DiDomenico claimed him, and maybe we'll see Brennan take a shot and send him like Billy Dobson did in his two wins at Saratoga in December.
Race 5 - 15000-20000CLM HCP Pace
(4) BETTOR SPIRITS N moves from the NW10000L5's to claiming company here. He tried a first-over move against a well-meant Rancousy in that event a week ago and faltered, but I think this is a better spot and Jordan Stratton drives tonight for brother Cory. (5) LINKJACK HANOVER finished with some interest to come in second behind the romping Onlythetuffsurvive last Monday. He gets away from that foe tonight and gets a bit of a drop racing with a couple $15,000 claimers in here after being in the straight $20,000 claimer. (6) SIR MACHALOT shocked most of us last week with an aggressive drive and victory. He got claimed out of that event and has been enjoying plenty of recent success against $20,000 claimers.
Race 6 - NW4/50000LT Pace
(2) GLOBALDOMINATION N showed talent in both qualifiers and then closed strongly to finish second in his U.S. debut. I'm expecting him to be much closer to the pace tonight and perform well. He was fourth in a Group 1 race and a Group 2 race Down Under, so I respect that as well. (5) SUGAR SHOCK is the other logical horse in here as that was an impressive win last Monday. He threw that clunker on 12-9 but must have been sick or not himself as his other two local performances have caught the eye. (6) JERICHO WILLIE might appreciate the return to the half-mile track tonight as he was much better at Saratoga than he was at the Meadowlands.
Race 7 - NW5000L5 Pace
(3) BETTER WATCH OUT had a gap in his schedule heading into that race at the Meadowlands on 1-4 as he hadn't made a pari-mutuel start since 10-7, so I wasn't surprised he tired. I thought both his qualifiers at The Big M were fine, he drops to the bottom level here, gets back on a regular racing rotation, and he's won a race at Yonkers before. I'll look for a price. (1) BUNGALOW BILL N returns to Yonkers after several starts at the Meadowlands. He was Bartlett's choice in here and starts from the rail. He didn't win a race in 2019, but I think is usable underneath. (5) CASUAL COOL has been working his way down the class ladder in Pennsylvania and at Yonkers and reaches the NW5000L5's in this spot. If he could fire with an effort like those ones back in October, he'd probably win here, but I'll attempt to knock him off.
Race 8 - NW7500L5/Winners of NW5000L5 in Last Start Pace
(5) SECRECY makes his fourth start back off a layoff tonight. Those were some fairly stout foes he was facing off against at Freehold, and he had an outside post in his last effort to boot. He was second in his last try at Yonkers against NW10000L5's, and hopefully he's ready for a top performance. (4) STOLEN CAR looks like a main danger as he's rarely this low in class at Yonkers and gets reunited with Bartlett. (2) HIGHVIEW CONALL N had little chance at the Meadowlands last out from post ten but rallied to finish second behind an in-form Talent Soup at Yonkers before that. Co-owner Pat Berry comes in to drive.
Race 9 - NW10000L5/Winners of NW7500L5 in Last Start Pace
(3) YS LOTUS rallied by to win on the drop in class last Monday. He starts the hike back up tonight, but gets a positive post change, and he's won at this level in the past. (1) BLAISE MM HANOVER had a couple chances against NW10000L5's back in November and December and finished fourth both times. He has the pole tonight and switches pilots to Bartlett. Just two-for-32 in the win column last year, but had better stats in the place and show spots. (5) LONDON SEELSTER has some class relief here as he retreats from the NW15000L5's. He did win against similar foes on 11-2.
Race 10 - NW6/75000LT Pace
(2) SILAS SEELSTER closed out 2019 with an authoritative win over NW6's. He's been idle since then, but this same driver/trainer combo won last Monday with Triple Dip off a layoff. (5) YEAHNAH has threatened at this level before and gets a much better post to work with tonight after finishing third from the eight-hole last Monday. (4) APEX SEELSTER owns local wins against NW2's, NW3's, and now NW4's after a clear victory a week ago. This is his first try against NW6's, and I'll slot him underneath.
Race 11 - NW15000L5/Winners of NW10000L5 in Last Start Pace
(1) BLOOD BROTHER finally had a draw go his way tonight after having three seven-holes and a post eight in his last four appearances. I think he'll take advantage. (3) LIGHTNING ONMYFEET topped NW15000L5's back on 11-23 and is another horse in here getting post relief as he moves from the outside to psot three. Brennan also takes back over the driving chores. (4) SOLO STORY made little impact at the Meadowlands, especially on January 4, but I wouldn't put a wake-up call past him in this spot, and he was Holland's choice.