Yonkers: Saturday 11/16 Analysis

2019 STATS: 497 - 1246 / $2,302.30 (-$189.70)
BEST BETS: 59 - 106 / $186.60 (-$25.40)
Best Bet: JACK’S LEGEND N (6th)
Spot Play: TURBO HILL (11th)
Race 1 – NW10000 in last 5 starts
(3) DRINKA BEER has picked up checks in every start since the Garcia-Herrera claim, mostly from tough outside posts; move inside makes him an obvious contender here in this pretty soft NW10000 division. (2) LORD OF MISRULE is just 1 for 27 on the season but he usually does his best work at this level and Brennan sticks with the DiDomenico trainee. (1) SPORTS COLUMN qualified willingly in preparation for his local return and he draws best. (8) SANTIAGO STYLE has actually raced very well in his last two starts since returning locally and he seems like a worthy bomb to throw in underneath.
Race 2 – NW15000 in last 5 starts
It’s impossible not to notice the class and post relief that classy veteran (2) DOCTOR BUTCH receives tonight; Banca trainee seems pretty obvious from this spot. (4) ANTHEM N was put on the point last week and gave way under harsh pressure; perhaps the Tritton trainee is better-suited for coming from slightly off the pace. (1) TIGER BARON hasn’t been firing his best recently but landing the best post can turn him around in a hurry. (5) BEACH BOOGIE has the talent but the Allard trainee has been frustratingly inconsistent; he does face softer however and was Brennan’s choice.
Race 3 - $75,000 Claiming
(1) SOMWHERE IN L A paced just evenly last week in his debut at this $75K claiming level and I’m not ready to write the veteran off just yet. (5) KEYSTONE PHOENIX has been like a totally different horse in his last three and easily held classy rivals at bay last week; obvious threat to repeat. (7) SCOTT ROCKS is saddled with the worst post which doesn’t help his cause but will help his price. (3) BLATANTLY BEST charged home to upset last week in this class; can he do it again?
Race 4 – NW20000 in last 5 starts
(2) LUCIANO N has been ultra-consistent of late for a barn that I’ve mentioned a few times recently seems to be heating up; he’s a threat to go wire-to-wire here. (3) TOPVILLE OLYMPIAN was a solid second in his debut for the Banca barn and a similar effort will put him right there at the wire. (4) OURLITTLEGENERAL A has hit the ticket in his last six starts and the Allard trainee is more than capable. (5) SPORTS BETTER parlayed a perfect cover trip into a win versus lesser but he’s got some good ones inside of him tonight and may be reduced to just a minor share here.
Race 5 – Preferred Handicap Pace
(3) MAC’S JACKPOT threw in one clunker a few starts back but other than that he’s been awesome; he faces some good rivals here but seems sharp enough to take another. (4) CAVIART LUCA bumps back up to the Preferred level off two solid efforts and the classy Burke trainee is slowly closing in on a million dollars earned lifetime. (2) DANCIN DRAGON has been overachieving for quite some time now and was narrowly beaten by a legit Open horse in The Real One last week. (1) GOKUDO HANOVER finally found the winner’s circle last week but he will have to step it up another notch in order to repeat.
Race 6 – Open Handicap Pace
(5) JACK’S LEGEND N had all sorts of late pace last week with nowhere to go in his North American debut but unfortunately I wasn’t the only one to see this so don’t expect any sort of a price tonight. (6) SAYING GRACE N ships in from Indiana for the Cullipher barn and he’s near-perfect in four U.S. starts; we’ll see how well he fits here. (1) RUNRUNJIMMYDUNN N has yet to prove he’s a legit Open horse but you can’t question his current form. (2) WESTERN JOE is clearly trending in the right direction; certainly playable.
Race 7 – Open Handicap Trot
(6) WILL TAKE CHARGE came up totally empty in the Breeders Crown but he’s back at his preferred venue and Stratton sticks with him; price will be right and we’ll see if he’s ready to go. (7) EMOTICON HANOVER is a legit stakes-quality mare who should fit well in here. (3) TIGHT LINES gets an impossible-to-ignore driver change to Bartlett and the Jeff Gregory trainee has proven he can go with these. (2) STORMY KROMER enters unchartered territory and you can’t question how sharp he is. Last week he almost won despite being very steppy in the early stages.
Race 8 - $40,000 Claiming
(5) SHOREVIEW did everything right last week but win, as he awaited clearance from the pocket as (1) FIREBALL had the jump on him; I’ll stick with the Team Bongiorno charge looking for the better price. (1) FIREBALL has been super on two starts off the DiDomenico claim and now he lands the best post; he’s the obvious one to knock off. (2) ARTIFACT HANOVER has tailed off a bit of late but the class and post relief can help. (5) MACH TIME N is done no favors by landing outside his main rivals but he seems good enough now to squeak out a share.
Race 9 – NW15000 in last 5 starts
(4) BIT OF A LEGEND N is back down in class, moves inside and goes back to Stratton; he’s the obvious choice here as he winds down his stellar career. (1) PROVEN DESIRE has just been “ok” recently but we know he’s better than that. (5) PERFECTLY CLOSE drops out of claimers and was a winner four back at this level. (6) TREMENDOUS PLAY disappointed last week on the front end when crushed to 45 cents on the dollar; obviously the Banca trainee will offer much more value tonight but the trip from this spot is uncertain.
Race 10 – NW20000 in last 5 starts
(4) HIGHLAND TARTAN gets some needed class relief and overall the veteran has had a great season; not sure what’s going on here with the barn change but I assume he’ll be good to go. (3) SOLID ASA ROCK A went through the motions in his last two from outside posts; move inside and switch back to Bartlett should help. (6) BRONX SEELSTER is an interesting 3-year-old for Allard who was a Breeders Crown finalist and he ships in off a nice win in an overnight race at Pocono with Lasix added. (5) PACING MAJOR N has been no good recently but it’s hard to ever count the Tritton trainee out.
Race 11 – NW30000 in last 5 starts
(5) TURBO HILL has been solid in all recent starts, mostly facing better; 4-year-old has shown good versatility and Goodell has tactical options from this spot. (6) RAUKAPUKA RULER N steps up to face better off a very encouraging win in his second U.S. start for Tritton and we’ll see if he shows further improvement. (4) THE WALL keeps chugging along for the Surick barn as he went over the $260K mark in seasonal earnings with last week’s win. (1) DECLAN SEELSTER was a solid and well-meant winner last week but he loses Bongiorno tonight, who gets along well with him; Bartlett gets the drive from the best post.