Yonkers: Thursday 5/23 Analysis
Best Bet: YS TALLIA (10th)
Spot Play: OUR WHITE KNIGHT (3rd)
MEET STATS: 173 - 485 / $898.80 (-$71.20)
BEST BETS: 26 - 42 / $77.40 (-$6.60)
Race 1
(1) SECRECY was clearly second best to a classy rival last week and the gelding should be in line for a perfect trip from this spot. (5) ROCK N BLUE plunges in class though with little current form but his lone win this year was against better. (4) NATURAL LEDA never wins but can usually be counted on for a share at this level.
Race 2
(2) SOUL TRAIN has been sharpest of these throughout the amateur driving series and Joe Lee clearly handles him well; only concern is last week's sick scratch. (5) TOUGH GET GOING was second best in a fast mile last out and he'll be leaving the gate with Faraldo. (1) FIJI draws the best post and should land a share if kept close enough to the action.
Race 3
(8) OUR WHITE KNIGHT raced very willingly to be second best last week in just his second seasonal start; the post obviously hurts but if Bartlett can coax some early speed out of him to improve position he'll be a big player. (6) ARVIKA arrives from Canada, joins the live DiDomenico barn, has some speed and looks like a decent fit here. (1) ALALONIA has raced decently in her two local starts for Toscano.
Race 4
(7) ANNABETH lands outside and doesn't have the greatest current form but she faces a very soft grouping of NW1000 types and should be a healthy price. (2) TYRONBETTORSELLA N wasn't bad last week and seems to have room for improvement. (3) BROWN BRINNY has been close in her last three for Banca and is certainly the most logical here but she has just two wins over the last couple of seasons.
Race 5
(2) FULL RIGHTS won a leg of the Walner series over at The Meadowlands in his 2019 debut so clearly the talent is there; Schnittker trainee should be a fair price in this evenly-matched field. (3) GOT NO MONEY HONEY broke last week in his local return but his prior local efforts were very competitive. (8) CHECKMATE HILL lands the worst post but has early speed to overcome.
Race 6
(1) DONTFORGETMASTER was well backed last out and fired home in time to get the job done; a similar effort tonight can make him a repeat winner. (3) INTEROVER just hasn't been able to seal the deal recently, failing in her last five on the front end; still her form remains solid and she'll get there eventually. (4) CHIP CHIP CONWAY made $100K as a two-year-old and was a NYSS finalist; he's returned sharp for this season and should remain tight with tonight's effort.
Race 7
(6) BLAISE MM HANOVER has had his moments here in the past and returns locally into a field with plenty of question marks; he may need some help working out a trip but the price should be good enough to consider. (5) AMERICANFIREWATER has been close in his last four, including two tough beats here last month. (2) GIVENUPDREAMING seems to have gone sour in a hurry. We all know he's best here, but how short a price do you accept on him?
Race 8
(4) MISTER RUFF has shown improvement with the hobbles added and he arrives from The Meadows to join the Jenn Bongiorno barn; that angle alone deserves instant respect. (6) MVP LUKE got by a stubborn leader last week at 1/5 odds making it three in row; he's clearly the one to beat again but won't offer any value. (5) ALEXANDRIA HANOVER qualified effectively for Burke after taking a couple of months off.
Race 9
(3) NO EXCUSES proved very stubborn in defeat last week, getting gunned down by a heavy favorite; mare should be a decent price again and seems worthy of a try. (1) BIGBOY ROSCO also went down stubbornly in defeat last out and the DiDomenico trainee has been very sharp; likely short price looming here. (6) ARMAGEDON SEELSTER arrives from Philly in good form and gets a very interesting driver change to Stratton.
Race 10
(2) YS TALLIA finished with plenty of pace in traffic last week after riding the rail at the back of the pack. This is clearly a much, much better spot tonight for the Allard trainee. (4) ROYAL KNOCKOUT never wins but quite often offers value underneath and she can land a good share from this spot. (3) SLICK ARTIST A did race well here in the past and returns with a good post.