The weekly TwinSpires Harness blog update covers our successes and failures in features, select stakes and H2W (horses to watch list). H2W horses until the following Monday appear in the next week’s Update.
Thursday, November 24
This week’s extended Mohawk Miles listed five horses. JK Mickey Mantle ($2.90, $2.40, $2.40 OK), a favourite, was our only winner of the four contenders. The will to play ($3.70) was third favourite; Thanks a lot, the favorite, finished fourth and was ranked seventh by the judges; and Getitgetitgotit (61-1) finished fifth.
Friday, November 25
In the four Hoosier Thanksgiving Classics, there have been three winning favorites. I was second with Pattsville ($4.00, $3.20), losing to the only distance winner of the quartet. I was third with Caviar Gold ($2.80) in another. The public election buried our other contenders; Taurasi (7-2) finished eighth, and Swan Trixie (38-1) finished seventh.
Saturday, November 26
The Final Four action was anything but a gold mine for us as we tried to attract some outside competitors. Strong poisona heavy favourite, he ran out to finish seventh. Admiral of the South Wind (47-1) was not a match for the favorite winner. Heart on fire finished fourth in the obvious public choice. And I can’t stop Lou (17-1) surrendered to the favorite to finish fourth.
H2W LIST RESULTS
H2W results list general prices. Exacts listed include an H2W horse finishing second to a race favorite or if the first two finishers are H2W horses (an asterisk appears when both horses form a cool exotic combo; most base prices are $2). The “OK” grade determines that the prices are correct (even when the price of a show exceeds the price of a seat or all prices are the same).
Please note that some results reflect horse races after the blog posts (these appear the following week).
This week, there were 36 H2W horses (a 14% win-hit rate and a 36% ATB [across-the-board] the duck). Horses with asterisks before their names were @FrankCotolo tweets. Watch for late picks.
Winners
Hilar Lou $15.80 $5.80 $5.40 Rosecroft
PL Ooooooooooyah $9.10 $5.10 $3.60 Mohawk
Village Champ, $4.80, $3.20, $3.20 OK, Freehold
Stonebridge Nike $3.20 $2.20 $2.40 OK Northville
Statement, $2.90, $2.20, $2.20, Monticello
seconds
Wegoforthefront, $10.60, $7.00, Dayton
Refined, $7.80, $7.40 (Exactly $28.00), Meadowlands
Run Around John, $5.40, $3.40, Monticello
My Guilty Pleasure, $5.20, $3.40 (Exactly $13.00), Freehold
Imnottellinya again, $4.60, $3.00, Northville
Avery Hailstorm, $4.00, $2.20, Northfield
Spoileronthebeach, $3.80, $2.80 (exactly $20.00), Philly
Bazaar Bazaar, $3.70, $3.50 (Exactly $25.20), Vernon
Trinity
No one
NEWS & NOTES
There is no doubt that it is year of the bulldog. The best pace of 2022, Bulldog Hanover is the 100% winner for Harness Horse of the Year. For anyone who thinks the fastest pacer of all time isn’t destined for the title, take note of a powerful coincidence in another animal competition. A bulldog has won Best in Show at the 2022 National Dog Show. Winston is the first French Bulldog to win the competition’s top prize, beating hundreds of purebred canines. A historical asterisk? Sure.
Seelster Farms, Jack Darling, Brad Grant and Diamond Creek Farm welcome premium applications Hanover Bulldog breeding season while continuing his stallion career in Ontario. After breeding and racing in 2022, the Bulldog stallion has a limited number of shares available for purchase for North American breeders. Maybe he should have a full book in his first season? After all, if he is nearly as quick to produce as a sire as he was to win on the track, his bloodline could dynamically influence the breed.
As the stakes season winds down, TwinSpires Harness Preview focuses overnight as top betting businesses. All of our features will be drawn overnight at our chosen North American racetracks and each featured race follows our policy of measuring the best betting opportunities – win, place, show and exotics, always in the bettor’s best interest TwinSpires.
During the lockdown due to the pandemic, TwinSpires harnesses gave us predictions for successful new fathers. Bar Hopping it met our forecasts. On November 21, Bar Hopping died while staying at Hanover Shoe Farms. The sad news came as a shock. He was only nine years old, and his death came without explanation. Sons of Muscle Hill’s first crop include Bella Bellini, Breeders Crown and champion Hambletonian Maturity; 2021 Yonkers Trot Champion Johan Palema; and Grand Circuit In Range and Pub Crawl winners. Also sired this year’s championship final winners Date Night and French Wine, Kentucky, as well as 2021 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion SI P.
Great supplements
Treat yourself to our column Alternative actions to Harness Racing Update.