Breeders Crown Brings Upsets to Mind

The Breeders Crown is the most prestigious set of races since its inauguration, 1984. This will be the second year that all 12 races are presented on one night. With many of the top horses in the division either gone from injury or retirement, this will be a Breeders Crown in the record books. Listed below are my picks for the Breeders Crown and a reason.

Mare Trot

9 Autumn Escapade- Without a doubt, she is the one to beat in this field. She has improved since her failed attempt of victory in the Armbro Flight. She may be a short price, but her post will likely scare bettors.

1 Kandor Hanover- Runner up to Action-Broadway in the Armbro Flight at Mohawk. She had just lost by a neck and has an upper hand, class wise.

Back Up Horse:

11 Miss Dangles- Gets the benefit of the draw with the second tier. She was runner up to Autumn Escapade in the Miss Versatility final at Delaware, Ohio. She has raced over this track several times and will need to get a position to be in the top four.

Two-Year-Old Filly Trot

5 Win Missy B- Will be dueling for division honors with Check Me Out in this event. She may be better than any horse in this field.

7 Miss Paris- Her pedigree is top class. She sat mid-pack in the elimination, not doing much. She may be a monster in the final.

10 Aunt Mel- She raced fantastic from post nine in her elimination, finishing third. She will have to leave the gate fast and sit mid-pack for a perfect trip. Her post will heighten her odds.

Back Up Horse:

9 For A Dancer- Stayed in New York for most of her two-year-old campaign. She shocked in the elimination and may do so this week.

Two-Year-Old Filly Pace

2 Handsoffmycookie- She is very underrated coming into the Breeders Crown. She has only lost once and that was in the Sweetheart in August. With her speed, she can go faster than everyone else.

3 Pirouette Hanover- Was thought to be better than “Cookie” after “Pirouette’s” victory in the Sweetheart. She has raced in Canada many times and has had no luck post wise. She will be dangerous tonight.

Back Up Horses:

6 Shelliscape- Knows the Canadian oval very well. She has raced against the top many times and will most likely be in the exotics.

9 Podges Lady- Tries her hardest every start. Knowing the Seekmans, they want her to get a perfect trip. With her post, this feat may be possible.

Early Pick 4 Ticket

Race 4-7

$1 Ticket- 25/4810/13/35 = $24 ($4.80 for $.20)

Two-Year-Old Colt Pace

2 Bettors Edge- He was a shocker in the elimination, running up to A Rocknroll Dance at 39-1. He will likely be bet and will be in the top three.

Longshot Play:

5 Hurrikane Kingcole- Had a troubled trip in his elimination. He was interfered and closed hard up the pylons in the stretch. He will be a major speed factor and may steal the race.

Back Up Horses:

7 Sing For Me George- Dueled in his elimination, but ended up finishing second to Sweet Lou. He will be heavily bet.

8 Speed Again- He is a local favorite that does super well in every start. He was interfered in his elimination and drew post 8. His performance from here is unpredictable.

Two-Year-Old Colt Trot

4 Possess The Will- Won his elimination in fine style. He will need to show that talent again tonight.

8 Royal Shyster- Made a great recovery after breaking. He will be underrated from his elimination and may bomb.

Back Up Horses:

7 Presdigitator- This guy making the final is as strange as watching the Mummy Rockettes. He will most likely finish on the board.

10 Delano- He draws in after From Above scratched sick from his elimination. He has proven how good he is when he stays flat. Post 10 for him on the other hand will be the challenge of his career.

Mare Pace

1 Maureen Rocks- She was aggressive in the elimination, but did not have enough to catch Anndrovette. She has post 5 and “Maureen” drew the rail, which is hopefully an advantage.

3 Chancey Lady- Did not race as she usually does in the elimination. She normally leaves for the top, but she stalked. If she goes for the front, she will be hard to beat.

Back Up Horses:

6 On The Glass- Has done better in Tony O’Sullivan’s barn than she did in Ron Burke’s barn. She is blossoming into the tough horse she was last year. She will be in the exotics.

8 Rock N Soul- I have been backing this horse since her gigantic upset in the Misltoe Shalee final last year (I gave her out, she finished second at 82-1, paying more than $90 to place and $130 to show). If she races like herself, she will be tough to beat.

Open Trot

3 Commander Crowe- Let’s face it, this guy and Rapide Label are the ones to beat in here. They didn’t come over here just to be in it, they are obviously the best.

5 Rapide Label- Look at Commander Crowe’s case.

Back Up Horses:

2 San Pail- He will obviously be runner up to these two horses. Unless he goes off stride, he will be on the board.

7 Lucky Jim- He has had problems all year, until Tetrick got aboard him. His breaking problem stopped and he has performed better in general.

Three-Year-Old Filly Pace

3 Rocklamation- She raced phenomenal in her elimination. If she stays a bit closer to the pace, she can easily beat Drop The Ball (Who is the fastest in the race).   

Back Up Horses:

6 Monkey On My Wheel- She has done well in Canada throughout her career. She has finished won and placed several times and will be a bomb if she does so tonight.

7 Swinging Beauty- Seems like she didn’t race at her full potential in the elimination. If this is so, she may race fantastic in the final.

Late Pick 4 Ticket

Races 9-12

$1 Ticket- 35/710/28/711 = $16 ($3.20 for $.20)

Three-Year-Old Colt Trot

5 Manofmanymissions- He either wins or he breaks, simple as that.

8 Daylon Magician- He had a rough trip in his elimination. He was hung but was runner up to Chapter Seven. He may be a price from post 8.  

Back Up Horses:

3 Can Anyone Explain- He raced exceptionally in his elimination. He finished second in the International Sires Series at Lexington. He has a good post and will need to improve big to be in the top.

6 For You Almostfree- He barely made it to final as he broke at the start. If he gets a good trip, he will likely finish in the trifecta.

Three-Year-Old Filly Trot

7 Jezzy- She raced well in her elimination, but will have to do better in the final.

BOMBER OF THE NIGHT:

10 Pantholops- She made a gigantic recovery in her elimination to finish fifth. If she’s close enough to the pace, she will be the 2011 Southwind Serena.

Back Up Horses:

1 Lady Andover- She raced better than expected in her elimination. She gets an advantage with post 1 tonight.

3 Eagle Canada- The broken equipment she had at the finish may have affected her performance. If it didn’t, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Three-Year-Old Colt Pace

2 Westwardho Hanover- He won his elimination by a narrow margin. He gets better every week and will be tough to beat in here.  

Longshot:

8 Fashion Delight- He could of done better in the elimination if he did not get interfered. If he gets a comfterable spot, he will blow out the pick four.

Back Up Horses:

10 Mystician- He will have to race from mid-pack as he will leave from post 10. If he gets cover, he will be dangerous.

Open Pace

7 Dial Or Nodial- Has been improving with every start. He will need a trip to finish on the board.

11 Aracache Hanover- Has the speed to blow away this field. If he gets the top, its game over.

Back Up Horses:

2 Foiled Again- Won the Open at Woodbine last week, beating other horses in the Breeders Crown. He has been a tough competitor all year and is sure to be one in the “Crown.”

5 Bettor Sweet- Starting to get his career back on track. He has been doing better than he has earlier this year. He is likely to finish in the exotics.

Older Horses Ready for ‘Crown’

Saturday, October 22 features the best sophomore and elder horses in the Breeders Crown eliminations. Listed below are my picks for tonight’s card.

Race 1 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Filly Trot Elimination

Notes- (2) Don’t Think Twice made a huge jump in class at Lexington and did very well. She is an improving horse and will be under the radar in here. (8) Jezzy took a while to become the winning machine she was earlier this year. She is in a weak field and looks sharp coming into the elimination.

Race 2 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Colt Trot Elimination

Notes- (3) Chapter Seven did really well in the Bluegrass at Lexington. Although he has not done well in Canada, he is doing great coming into here. (5) For You Almostfree has finished fourth or third in most of his starts. He is the big bomber in here and Jamieson may give him a perfect drive, sitting mid-pack.

Race 3 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Colt Trot Elimination

Notes- (4) Can Anyone Explain may be the most reliable horse in the field. You never know what Broad Bahn, Manofmanymissions or Luckycharm Hanover are going to do. “Explain” is so consistent, if he wins, we will be able to buy a six month supply of maple syrup. (8) Big Rigs did well in the Bluegrass at Lexington. If he doesn’t break, he will be in the exacta.

Race 4 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Filly Trot Eliminations

Notes- (5) Magic Wheel has done very well on the WEG cicuit. She knows the track well and should be in the top three. (9) Miss Sue V did well against the top fillies. She may be the big bomb in here.

Race 5 $50,000

Open Pace (Breeders Crown Prep)

Notes- (5) Mach Dreamer is always close to the pace. He can close and knows this track really well. He is sharp coming into this race. (8) St Elmo Hero has been magnificent up in Canada. He’s as sharp as a sword coming into the open.

Race 6 $40,000

Mare Pace Elimination

Notes- (3) On The Glass is no longer in the Ron Burke stable, she is part of team Tony O’Sullivan. She beat all these horses in the Allerage at 29-1. She may bomb again from post three. (9) Rock N Soul drew a good post, under her standards. She does real well when she races from the outside. She redeemed herself at Pocono Downs and raced fantastic in the Spring Of Hope at Mohawk. She fancies this racetrack.

Race 7 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Filly Pace Elimination

Notes- (6) Monkey On My Wheel is a horse to go “bananas” for. She is a local favorite and has dominated the Ontario Sires Stakes circuit. She may get a spot mid-pack and come flying at the wire. (7) Swinging Beauty  has always been in contention. She did well at Lexington and should do well tonight.

Race 8 $30,000

Preferred 2

Notes- (1) Peenie has drawn bad posts in several starts, but is aggressive. He should get an advantage with the rail. (4) Red Bugler also is aggressive. He is close to the winner in most of his tries and may redeem himself tonight.

Race 9 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Filly Pace Elimination

Notes- (4) Pretty Katherine beat Krispy Apple in the New Jersey Sires Stakes at the Meadowlands earlier this year. Although she did bad in the Jugette, she is improving and getting more into contention. (5) Rocklamation has been under the radar most of the year. She lost by a neck to Idyllic in the Jugette and is very sharp right now.

Race 10 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Colt Pace Elimination

Notes- (2) Custard The Dragon is questionable at this point. Team Teague has been doing well right now, but have not had any luck in Canada. “Custard” is looking a bit fresh and may bomb. (4) Mystician is the hometown favorite. He has not left Canada in his lifetime. This may be a good thing as he has gone over the Woodbine oval several times, doing very well.

Race 11 $25,000

Three-Year-Old Colt Pace Elimination

Notes- (1) Prodigal Seelster has been heavily bet in the Ontario Sires Stakes Gold Finals. He has finished on the board in all but one start this year. With all the speed in this race, he may close hard. (6) Fashion Delight came back recently after suffering an injury before the Empire Breeders Classic. He did very well in the Bluegrass at Lexington and the Fashion Farms are hot right now.

Race 12 $20,000

NW $14,000 last 5

Notes- (1) Cole Diddy is making a huge step down back to the company where he was very successful. He also drew the rail, which may help. (6) Pontiac Luck did well in this company from post six at Mohawk in September. She may be strong again from post six.

Race 13 $17,000

NW $9,000 last 5

Notes- (4) Classic Rock Nroll is coming off a bad effort against free for all pacers in the Winbak Pace. Before that, he was victorious in this class at The Meadows. He may be victorious again. (6) Top Gear is making a slight step down from a great effort, not quitting. He may improve tonight.  

Sweet Lou sweeps colts late in second ‘Crown’ elim for frosh pacers

By Frank and Ray Cotolo

TORONTO, Ont. – Sweet Lou (Yankee Cruiser) glided to a victory in the nightcap of the Breeders Crown eliminations at Woodbine on Friday, Oct. 21. It was the second of two elims for frosh-colt pacers.

Sweet Lou set a lifetime mark of 1:50 winning the race with a sweeping late move for driver Dave Palone and trainer Ron Burke. Sing For Me George (Bettor’s Delight) finished second, I Fought Dalaw (Western Ideal) was third, Escape The News (Artiscape) was fourth and Lawgiver Hanover (Art Major) was fifth, completing the second five earning berths in the Oct. 29 final.

I Fought Dalaw and Shakerattlenrock (Rocknroll Hanover) left the gate fast, with Escape The News in third and Sing For Me George in fourth. “Dalaw” took the field by the quarter in :26.1. “Rock” was 3 lengths back in second, “Escape” was 9 lengths back in third and “George” was 10 lengths back in fourth.

Dalaw owned the lead as the field remained sprawled and blew by the half in :54.1 (:28).

Dalaw continued to dominate into the far turn, with George moving first over into second to launch a challenge and Escape buried at the pylons in third. Dalaw still had a firm lead at three-quarters in 1:22 (:27.4).

George and Sweet Lou were gaining on Dalaw at the top of the stretch. Escape was in fourth and Lawgiver Hanover was in fifth. But “Lou” answered Palone’s mild urging and flew by George and Dalaw to win.

Sing For Me George finished second, I Fought Dalaw finished third, Escape The News was fourth and Lawgiver Hanover was fifth.

Before going to Lexington, “Lou” was not known on the national scene, having raced primarily in the Pennsylvania Sires Stakes. He won the $100,000-plus Elevation Stakes at Indiana Downs and in Kentucky he faired well against the top tier in the division.

Driver Dave Palone said, “I hooked up with him in the baby races early in the summer. Ron [Burke] loved him and the first time I sat behind him I thought he could be a special colt. In the sires stakes he was usually much the best so I put him on the lead. In the last couple of races he raced [from off the pace] and he has been even more affective. [Tonight] I just wanted to get him away quietly and not put him in a bad spot.”

Sweet Lou had to contend with a fiery first few panels. Palone said, “I was hoping it would go exactly the way it did. I would have liked to get away a little more alert but I didn’t want to make a mistake from the rail. I was happy that he just kept moving along; he was going into the last turn loaded and when I moved him I thought he was the best then.”

Sweet Lou is by Yankee Cruiser out of the mare Sweet Future by Falcons Future. He has earned more than $350,000 in his lifetime. Burke Racing, Weaver Bruscemi, Lawrence Karr and Phil Collura own him. He is bred by Bimam Wood Farms.

Sole filly ‘Crown’ elim field trounced by Check Me Out

By Frank and Ray Cotolo

TORONTO, Ont. – Check Me Out (Donato Hanover) with Tim Tetrick up, obliterated the two-year-old filly trotters in their only Breeders Crown elimination at Woodbine Racetrack on Oct. 21 in.

For A Dancer (Conway Hall) was second, Aunt Mel (Yankee Glide) was third and Miss Paris (Kadabra) was fourth.

Soprano Hanover (Muscles Yankee) and Personal Style (Yankee Glide) do not progress to the final. Circles and Win Missy B received byes to the Oct. 29 finale.

For A Dancer with Jeff Gregory left for the lead, with Aunt Mel and David Miller and Check Me Out right there heading for the first turn. For A Dancer took the field by the quarter in :29 as they settled in line.

Approaching the three-eighths marker, “Check” came first over with a strong brush and cleared the top at the half in :58.1 (:29.1). “Dancer” stayed in second, “Mel” was in third and Miss Paris was in fourth.

Check had full command of all foes around the far turn as Dancer stalked in second and Mel rolled along in third.

Then, Personal Style went on a break and disorganized the backfield. Check was oblivious to anything but the lead and he took the field by three-quarters in 1:27.2 (:29.1).

Dancer was riding the pylons in second and Mel, going wide, was closing in third. Miss Paris, steered by Scott Zeron, was coming on with a late charge, getting fourth, the best any of the backfield could do.

Check Me Out controlled the freshmen fillies all the way to the wire to take the Breeders Crown elimination at 1-5. For A Dancer was second, Aunt Mel was third and Miss Paris finished fourth.

There was a $216 refund on Soprano Hanover, who broke behind the gate at the start, due to the fair-start rule.

Tetrick said he was very happy with the way the trip worked out for the prohibitive favorite. “My filly was relaxed and would do anything I wanted her to do,” he said. “She’s been good every start, she just had some bad luck the one race she got beat; she just wasn’t on her game. She has bounced back every start super since then. I think she has gotten better and stronger with every start.”

Tetrick commented about racing strongly with a slight wind factor in the stretch by saying, “At the top of the lane I called on her, she dropped her butt about six inches and she was gone. It’s a great feeling when you talk to ‘em at the top of the lane and they take off.”

Check Me Out is a filly by Donato Hanover, the sire’s second progeny to win a frosh elim on this program. She has earned a little more than a half-million dollars in her first racing season.

Trainer Ray Schnittker co-owns her with Charles Iannazzo. She was bred by Az Agricola Bisuzzi SrlScude. The win was Tetrick’s second elimination score on the night.

Possess The Will owns first ‘Crown’ elim for frosh-colt trotters

By Frank and Ray Cotolo

TORONTO, Ont. – Possess The Will (Donato Hanover) dominated the first freshman-boys trot Breeders Crown elimination at Woodbine Racetrack on Friday, Oct. 21, posting the victory in 1:56.1.

Magic Tonight (Andover Hall) finished second, Presdigitator (Kadabra) was third, Little Brown Fox (Muscles Yankee) was fourth and From Above (Donato Hanover) was fifth, completing the list of trotters earning berths for next week’s final.

Coming off of four wins in his last five races, Possess The Will took the second spot for driver Tim Tetrick in the first turn. Magic Tonight and Quit Smoking Now also left heading into the first turn.

“Tonight” cleared and “Possess” settled in the catbird seat while “Quit” sat in third. Tonight took the field by the quarter in :28.3.

Heading to the backstretch, Quit came first over and cleared the lead at the three-eighths. Ron Pierce pulled Tonight into second as Possess was smoothly trotting third on the inside. David Miller guided Quit on the engine by the half in :58.3 (:30).

Around the far turn, Possess challenged Quit with a first-over move for the lead. Then, Quit went on a bad break and backed up on the pylons. Possess inherited the lead coming to three-quarters. Tonight was behind him in second and Presdigitator, riding outside for most of the race, was closing from the back of the field, getting third as Tetrick took Possess to three-quarters in 1:27.1 (:28.3).

Possess had the lead coming into the stretch; Tonight was riding the pylons in second and Presdigitator applied pressure to the rest of the field while staying in third. Little Brown Fox was behind in fourth and the second-choice From Above, who began slowly inside of Presdigitator early, was about 5 lengths off Possess in fifth.

Possess was easily able to hold off Tonight and an ever-gaining Presdigitator (16-1) for the win. Little Brown Fox was fourth and From Above was the last qualifier for the final, finishing fifth. He paid $8 to win as the third choice.

Possess The Will is owned by Fashion Farms LLC and was bred by Hanover Shoe Farms, Inc.

Trainer Jim Campbell talked about some problems the winning colt had coming into October’s classic. “When he was [in Canada] for the ‘Wellwood’ he didn’t race well,” Campbell said. “It wasn’t his fault; we scoped him after the race and he was sick.

“We took him back home and got him ready for Lexington and he raced super out there, came here and won another big race. We couldn’t be more happy with him than we are tonight.”

Campbell was asked about how he felt about the first-over move the colt made to get to the top, which luckily took him out of the line of fire when Quit broke. Campbell said, “I’m thinking you got to pull him, he’s sitting third and we want a shot to go [in the final] and sitting in is not the way to do it.

“He’s the type of horse that if you come first over with him he can sit there and ride. He’s versatile; you can race him any way, it doesn’t matter.”

Campbell said he was happy to get a race over the track for his colt, “because coming off of Lexington and back to a stonedust track is a difference.”