Yonkers: Monday 12/9 Analysis

MEET STATS: 270 - 768 / $1,418.80 (-$117.20)
BEST BETS: 34 - 68 / $108.80 (-$27.20)
SPOT PLAYS: 14 - 68 / $118.40 (-$17.60)
BEST BET - BEACH BOOGIE (12th)
SPOT PLAY - TELLAWOMAN (8th)
Race 1 - F&M NW2/25000LT Pace
(5) LOVIN COCOA was favored back on 11-25 but got wiped out early and was never close. She still finished her mile well and should be better tonight with the race under her belt. (2) LEMON ZEST makes her Yonkers/half-mile track debut tonight after getting on a good run over in Pennsylvania. She cruised over NW3's down at Harrah's Philly most recently. (7) AFFLUENT SEELSTER gets another shot at the NW2's after winning two Mondays ago at the level. She has shown plenty of speed from outside draws, including in her victory, so I expect the same here.
Race 2 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Trot
(2) JACKS TO OPEN finished a solid second to a well-meant winner two weeks ago and gets reunited with Andy Miller tonight. (3) WATKINS should take plenty of wagering attention as he drops all the way to the bottom level tonight. He hit the board against better than these back on 10-22, and something like that mile would make him rather tough to beat here. (6) ELDORADO OF GOLD S took a shot against optional $15,000 claimers on 11-19 and never hit a trot, which looks uncharacteristic for him. He rebounded with an easy win at Harrah's Philly and has Bartlett back in the sulky tonight.
Race 3 - NW2/25000LT Pace
(4) MOTIVE HANOVER closed with authority in the final quarter in his last race to finish third. The Ford barn has started to have some better results lately, and he was Bartlett's choice of a couple in here. (1) COACH ZUZEK has the same Miller/Surick driver/trainer combo as my top pick in race two. He finished third against NW4's the last time he had the pole position back on 10-28. (5) R ES DAZ was racing in Atlantic Canada and now goes for Allard. His qualifier here wasn't bad, and Allard has been doing well with some of his new horses lately.
Race 4 - F&M NW4/50000LT
(1) THROWING SHADE drew post seven in the card that was cancelled last Monday, so the draw went her way here as she ends up with the pole. She rallied impressively from post seven to finish second back on the 25th of November, and showed more speed over at Pocono, which could be the plan here. (4) SWEET SHE ROCK drops from NW6 to NW4 tonight, which should put her in contention as she won in this class on 11-4. (3) TAKE ABIT OF LIFE loses Kakaley tonight to another horse in here but ended up with Bartlett. She gets some post relief off her last mile, moving inside to post three from post eight.
Race 5 - NW4/55000LT Pace
(4) SEMI TOUGH owns just a one-for-23 record this year but almost all of his starts have been against the best of the 3-year-old division. He raced on a half-mile track in the Little Brown Jug and was good, making the final and finishing fourth in there. (1) TAP TAP TAP starts from the pole position tonight. He has a win and a second in his two attempts with Bartlett driving for Harris, and Bartlett stuck here over two others. (3) BATTLE STRONG is a newcomer from Canada to the Bongiorno barn. He went a big mile back on 9-16 at Woodbine Mohawk Park, so I do think he has some talent.
Race 6 - F&M NW8/104000LT Pace
(3) SNOBBYTOWN does step up to the NW8 class tonight, but she was first or second in all of her tries against NW6's and comes off an impressive win on the 18th of November. (2) ROSE RUN UPTOWNGAL made a successful debut for Bucci on 11-25, downing NW6's. She also hikes up tonight, but showed some talent against Grand Circuit types through the season in addition to the local victory. (1) ALKIPPE topped NW8's on 11-4 when she started from the rail and is in that situation again tonight.
Race 7 - NW4/50000LT Pace
(4) WHATS INTHE ESKY A showed improvement last time out after some recent dull efforts. He owns two victories over NW4's at Yonkers back in September and October, and does draw better tonight after having post seven in that race on 11-25. (2) SUGAR SHOCK was much-improved in his first start for Allard on November 25, cruising over NW2's in a quick time. Steps up here but another performance like that one would certainly make him competitive. (1) FAST ON THE DRAW won a couple in-a-row back in September but hasn't been able to hit the ticket since 10-14. He does have a rail draw here, so maybe that can move him up a notch.
Race 8 - F&M NW6/75000LT Pace
(5) TELLAWOMAN came in third to Shecandance N and Snobbytown two back and was second to Snobbytown on 10-28. She gets away from that sort of competition tonight and might offer some value. She had post eight last time as well, so she gets some relief by moving to the five-hole. (1) APOTHIC owns some nice wins up in Canada, including one over some salty NW4's on 8-30, but I fear she might need a race as she hasn't made a pari-mutuel start since 9-27. (4) PRIVACY HANOVER came ripping out of the pocket in the third quarter on November 25 but was given the cold shoulder by Rose Run Uptowngal. She remains in good form and Bartlett drives again.
Race 9 - NW7500L5/Winners of NW5000L5 in Last Start Pace
(6) DOJEA SOLO got cooked in a three-wide early duel after leaving from post eight on November 30. He drops back down to NW7500L5's tonight, and at this level he came closing to get second after getting pinned in the pocket two back. (5) ROCK N BLUE won in this class on 11-19 and gets another chance at it tonight. He does lose Bartlett tonight to my top choice, so Goodell picks up the live-looking drive. (3) SOHO LEVIATHAN A returns to Yonkers after one shot from an outside post over at the Meadowlands. He was racing against NW10000L5's when last seen locally, so this is a drop.
Race 10 - NW8/100000LT / NW6 Drawn Inside Pace
(6) MATTICULOUS GB sports a record of 19 wins and 4 seconds in his career, most of which came in Great Britain. He's been spotless on this side of the Atlantic, too, winning all five of his appearances. He makes his Yonkers debut tonight, and Kakaley has won with him previously over at Pocono. (5) STAG PARTY is wrapping up his racing career as he's heading to stallion duty in Canada in 2020. He hasn't been able to win this year, but does come off a solid second-place finish in this class on November 25. (3) HEISMAN PLAYER had just one victory all of 2019 before winning his last two. He draws well and has plenty of speed to work out an inside trip again.
Race 11 - NW6/75000LT Pace
(3) BENSON BOYS N switches trainers tonight as Bongiorno takes over, but I don't see that being a huge issue. He's won nicely in this class two straight times and I'll use him on top again. (4) WILD BILL has been switching between NW8 and NW6 lately and is back in the latter class tonight. He seems to do his best racing against these types, and he has a driver switch back to Stratton tonight. (2) SKIP TO MY LOU sat a pocket trip to Benson Boys N on the 25th of November and finished third. He draws well again tonight and has been threatening against this company.
Race 12 - NW15000L5/Winners of NW10000L5 in Last Start Pace
(4) BEACH BOOGIE cut the fractions and came up just shy to two very classy foes in Somewhere In L A and Bit Of A Legend N on November 23. He returns to the NW15000L5 class tonight where he rolled to an easy win two back and looms a short price. (3) BILBO HANOVER keeps Kakaley here over a Burke trainee. This horse came a quick final quarter back on November 25 and Kakaley drove him to a runner-up finish over at Pocono before that. (1) TIGER BARON exits that same race Bilbo Hanover is coming out of, having finished fourth. He's been able to hit the board on occasion in this class but hasn't really come close to winning.