Random Harness Thoughts

Last evening the Stakes card at Pocono was raced, with the who's who in the sport. A few thoughts:

Sebastian K is some kind of trotter. The moment he stepped onto the track he looked sound and really happy to be out there. The eight year old went a mile for the ages - 1:49 flat. What was amazing about the effort, and what's amazing about him, is his (what thoroughbred handicappers call) tractability. He stormed the quarter in 26.2, immediately relaxed, backing down the half, then sped up again. That is so rare for a trotter. What an effort.

Sometimes trotters go bad when they go too fast. I worry about this with horses like Father Patrick and Trixton, mainly because of their age. With Sebastian it's tough to worry about it. He has a solid foundation, has already won a race in 50.2 without shoes and came back a week later and was even better.

Speaking of Father Patrick. How good is the Hambo potentially going to be this year with him, Trixton and Nuncio? Last year at this time we were searching for a horse we thought could be under 10-1 in the Hambo. 

It was the first time I saw the three year old filly Tyra race. I was impressed. That's a sound, fast little filly.

In the Franklin, we saw a dominant performance from Sweet Lou. Yes he got the half backed down a little, but he was torched to the quarter and had to restart the engines in the third quarter to keep a very good Domethatagain parked. He had every reason to be beaten by his stablemate, but he wasn't.

The Captain raced well (what he was doing at 2-1 from the eight hole is a great mystery, though), and he has come back as a four year old super-good. He's as tough as he always was, tries hard and doesn't quit. The only difference this year is the class jump; if he was a claimer, he would have raced 40's last year, and this year he has to deal with 100's. He's now 0 for 3 with a second against the top group, but seeing how he is pacing, it would not be surprising to me if he wins some races this year.

I was not thrilled with Sunshine Beach last night. I thought Captive Audience looked as good as any of them last evening. He had some pace in a quickening last half. 

Pocono is brutally hard to bet. I saw Uffezi Hanover at 8-5 and wondered why, but in the back of your mind you think she'd be going up to 3 or 4-1 the last few flashes, so betting others is futile. Miller drove her like a 5-1 shot, and she probably was 5-1 fair odds.

The Meadowlands carded an okay card of the usual's last evening. I played that much harder than the Pocono card (I think I made two bets at Pocono). Even when they card races like that you can find horses to play.

Have a great Sunday everyone.