Wednesday Empire Report

soaofny • December 13, 2023

The Empire Report - Wednesday, December 13, 2023 - Race Analysis

RACE 1 - (3) TOATSMYGOATS was a game front end winner last week over a tougher field than this one

- he sports a strong 20-6-6-7 record here this year, and the road to the winner's circle goes through him. (4)

ALWAYS CLOSE shows 2 wins and 2nd from his last 3 starts in NJ and his barn usually does well here

with limited stock - could prove the main danger. (6) FULLBACK lost his first 24 starts this year but he

won here on 11/8 then also won his last start at Chester - suppose he deserves some respect in his current

(better) form. (2) HEEZ OURPERSEUS N really wasn't bad last time, battling first over and only tiring at

the very end - have to see how he does for a new barn tonight. (5) OURRHYTHMNBLUES N was able to

steal a front end win 3 back but was doing little before that and has done nothing since - not sure this is a

spot for another form reversal. (8) MISTER SPOT A went an improved effort last time but was helped by a

better post - may not be able to match that from out here. (7) MACHLICIOUS was 1st or 2nd in 28 of 47

starts LAST year, but 2023 hasn;t gone nearly as well - seems like an outside shipping in off a bad date, and

drawing Post 7. (1) PERFECTLY CLOSE shows dull qualifiers after missing over a year.


RACE 2 - (1) YS SENSATIONAL CITY has sometimes looked like perhaps she's not the easiest horse to

drive but she's also hinted at some ability - raced very well the last time she drew the pole, and perhaps this

is a spot where she can put it all together and pick up her first Yonkers victory. (5) DEVILISH DREAMS

rebounded from a break/interference 2 back to go right to the top last week and wire the field - legitimate

chance to take another. (2) IM PRINCESS BELLA A was sent off favored for her U.S. debut but folded

badly after cutting the mile - was scratched sick from her next, then re-qualified last week after taking a

month off - would really be no surprise at all. (3) BLANK CHEEK turned in her best local effort to date

when 2nd to #5 last week - we'll see if that helps her confidence, and results in another contending mile. (7)

DONTKARENIFIDO won 4 of her 5 local starts - she hung badly in her next and came up a nose shy, then

was outbattled for 2nd (by #3) at the wire last week - will need some trip luck to make things work from

out here. (4) JAVA was 2nd last week but not particularly sharp (and it seems like she was racing better in

her first few local starts, than her last couple) - leaning towards others right now. (6) PRINCESS ARONA

crushed 'em in her first start for our top barn but hasn't been nearly as good in her 6 starts after that.


RACE 3 - (4) SPEED MAN N surprisingly got outmuscled dropping to NW10000 last week and had to

settle for 2nd - drops another notch and would be hard to against, even at a tiny price. (1) MY ULTIMATE

STAR A was a good 3rd vs. better last week - drops, draws the pole, and may be able to complete the

exacta. (5) CHURCHVIEWFRANKL IR ships back in off a pair of ugly out of town efforts, but he's had

good success here in the past and he reunites with Brennan - may be a good spot to look for a quick wake

up call. (2) BARON MICHAEL is winless in 10 starts here this year (and just 2 for 32 overall) but seems

sharp enough out of town right now to at least contend for a small share. (7) KING JAMES EXPRESS

throws some nice efforts but also some duds - this is probably not a spot where we'll see his best but can't

blame anybody looking to use him on some tickets at a big price. (3) PACE N PRIDE didn't function in his

first start back off the layoff - re-qualified solidly, but inclined to just watch him, for now. (6) GENIUS

MAN pounced on a perfect trip in a soft field to win last week but this is a much tougher assignment. (8)

MACHIATTO A lands in a brutal spot for his first start here since 2021 - good week to just observe.


RACE 4 - (8) ITALIAN DELIGHT N is just a head shy from winning 5 in a row, and is really hitting on all

cylinders right now - he absolutely deserves top billing despite Post 8....but also note that the one head loss

DID come from Post 8, and was at the hands of (3) PRESTIGE SEELSTER. The latter did manage to hold

off the top choice two starts back after getting a big jump on him to the final turn - he's the one with the

best chance to knock him off again. (4) SOUTHWIND ONYX has been very good (for 2 different barns)

lately, and came up 2nd best to #8 in his last - the good draw puts him in play for another good piece

tonight. (1) ROAN COLOR is a favorite of the fans, always taking $$ despite always ending up with only

small pieces - looking at that same scenario once more. (5) GOLDEN GESTURE has been struggling in

most of his recent starts - would have been an easy toss had his (leading) trainer not won an incredible

FIVE races on Tuesday night (still tough to hop on board this one's wagon, though)! (2) LEAVE AND RO

LL has been dull in most of his recent starts - waiting for better signs. (7) TWIN B SPEED DIAL lands in

this barn for the 3rd time after last week's claim - unfortunately, he continues to draw horribly. (6) SWAGA

SAURUSREX is in need of a major wake up call.


RACE 5- Interesting trot race with a variety of fresh faces! (7) CASSIUS HANOVER arrived from Canada

and made quite an impression in his first local start, going wide from the back to 3/4s and sustaining that

move all the way to the wire, finishing a flying 3rd while just missing 2nd - he's listed at 20-1 ML tonight

and while there are a few interesting newcomers, that price would be hard to resist. (5) CRAZYLAND had

been stuck on 2nds and 3rds before crushing a Chester field last week - as noted, his trainer/driver team

connected FIVE TIMES on Tues. (Bartlett had 7 winners total), and has to get even more consideration

than usual! (4) MY ONE PERCENT seems to be improving for his current barn every start and may be

overlooked in this field - certainly worth a look, at least for exotics, (6) DARK MIND ships in having won

2 of his last 3 in PA, gets a nice switch to Holland and is another that can do some damage here. (3) SHOP

PING IN PARIS seems to be over that brief rough patch and has been a steady player once again - eligible

for a piece. (2) BAR KEEP DEVIE throws more bad ones than good - would have to be a pretty big price

to be worth a look. (1) WANDAS WONDER has been racing well at Stga. but may just be a little cheaper

than some of the main players. (8) IRISH COFFEE finally got qualified in his 3rd try - good week to just

keep an eye on him.


RACE 6 - (4) MINT CONDITION is a 2YO that's finishing up her campaign nicely, winning her 2 local

starts with ease - remains the one to beat, especially with the post edge she has over her main rival. (8)

FINAL STING found an easy spot at Rosecroft last week and scored her first win on the season (as the

odds-on choice) - she raced well here in a handful of tries in May/June and seems the main danger...but

Siegelman will have to handle her aggressively to have any real chance. (3) TWO STAR MAGIC was a

"meh" 5th in her only local try but was coming off a break and may have been a little cautious - could be a

more serious player tonight. (6) C DIDDYS GAL was a dull 5th in her first start for the Dynamic Duo -

another with license to improve this week. (5) KALYPSO picked up a 2nd to the top choice in her only

local try but was just ok - will need to be a bit sharper tonight. (2) URSULA BLUE CHIP has a pair of

recent 3rds and would be reasonable to consider for another small slice tonight. (1) PINE BUSH MAGA is

now 0 for 24 but the inside draw at least gives him a chance at some scraps. (7) J M SPEAK EASY has yet

to hit board in 4 local tries and gets stuck outside once more.


RACE 7 - (6) HL FAITHY has done good work since the recent barn change, though she did make a break

in her last - gets Bartlett for the first time (in her Yonkers debut) and that 6-1 ML price makes her pretty

attractive. (5) HL BALLERINA (her connections also had #6 until recently) actually beat HL FAITHY at

Chester 3 starts back, and she gets what should be a driver upgrade for tonight - would be no surprise at all.

(2) STRATEGIC has shown that the ability is there WHEN he behaves....unfortunately, that isn't often

enough - consider only if the price is decent. (3) NEWTOWNS BLACKGOLD is just "ok" but he stays

trotting, will be on/near the lead and that means he does have a chance to win here. (4) LUKA was a bit

disappointing when 4th in his local debut - suppose he can be in the mix if he brings a bit better effort. (1)

WAVERLY HANOVER hasn't really clicked in his local tries - leaning towards others, even though the

draw can help him. (7) NAANDA AS broke her maiden at Chester last week in start #15 - lands in a brutal

spot for her YR debut.


RACE 8 - (7) SIMON SAYS HANOVER may have missed all off 2022 (and started off 2023 poorly up

North) but he's made up for lost time since shipping down to his current barn, and some of his recent efforts

have been eye popping....assuming the poor post will result in a good price, we'll try him on top (against

some pretty nice foes). (6) PLEASELETMEKNOW was a winner 2 and 3 back before running into a

horrible trip last week - a good journey tonight makes him dangerous again. (2) RED RIGHT HAND went

a big mile last week, but ran into an equally sharp winner (#5) - losing Bartlett hurts, but a good trip could

make this guy a live late player. (5) GREG THE LEG gets some help by being kindly assigned to draw

inside the top 2 choices - he's won 13X this year, and has 2 wins and 3 seconds from his last 5 starts - can

never be dismissed easily. (3) ALL CLASS ships in sharp from PA for our leading trainer/driver tandem

and while he's never won here at THIS level, he's certainly raced well in the past - wouldn't shock. (1)

TWIN B HEART THROB is having an outstanding year, but still has to prove he can be as effective against

these types. (4) SPOTY M THREE has tailed significantly in his last few starts and lands in a sharp field.


RACE 9 - (6) FAVORITE BEACH was hard to gauge off her Monticello qualifiers but she was pretty well

backed for her YR debut and went an impressive mile, delivering a sustained rally to be a fast closing 2nd -

should only be tighter now, and worth a play tonight. (5) AVF CLAIRE drew poorly in both local starts and

didn't even pretend to be interested - she did finish alertly both times (from impossible spots), and may be a

bit more serious this time - if the tote board suggests she's a "go" tonight, you may want to hop on board.

(2) TWIN B ALLURE is 3 for 4 since moving to the Super Siblings and would likely be 4 for 4 if not for

being interfered with on 11/29 - remains a very real threat. (3) BIG BIG PLANS cut the mile in her local

debut before weakening a bit to 3rd - still a good one for exotics. (7) TWIN B ECHO has raced well more

often than not since arriving from Canada this summer- she owns a win over the track, hails from a hot

barn, and seems like a good one to include underneath at a big price. (4) EXTREME Z TAM didn't kick in

nearly enough last week, and will need to be a bit sharper if looking for a decent piece tonight. (1) ANNEL

IESE HANOVER throws a good one here and there but is in tough tonight, even if on her game.


RACE 10 - Good race: (5) YOU GOT IT is still looking for that first win of the year (he was disqualified

after winning a few starts back), but he's raced well in many of the losses - maybe this is the spot where he

can trip out and break the schneid? (7) DIAMANTE TRIO IT has hit board in 8 straight, and 10 of 12

overall at Yonkers - he's usually a good price, can race on or off the pace, and can be considered if NOT

overbet. (1) STRONGERWITHLINDY was 2nd to a 1/20 shot two back, then paid a BIG price winning his

last- he'll be another big price (despite his good form), and may be sharp enough to deal with tonight's class

jump - ok for exotics. (2) ENOLA hasn't been "bad" since arriving here 4 starts back from Canada, but she

also hasn't upped her game as much as might have been expected - needs to be a little sharper. (3) INN AT

RODANTHE won his first 2 local starts after arriving from up north but seems to have leveled off a bit -

hard to count out anything from this barn right now. (4) ALLSUMMERLONG AS returns from PA with

wins in 2 of her last 3 starts but needs to race better than she did in prior Yonkers starts. (6) HAND OVER

DAN did stay trotting last week but was still up the track after being out every step - not ready t hop on his

team just yet.


RACE 11 - (4) HEAVEN ON HIGH N was off to a good start at Yonkers before getting sidetracked by

some horrible posts in higher classes - was a good 3rd last week (in a fast mile) and now drops to the level

he beat on 10/17 - he was Bongiorno's choice...and ours as well. (1) SOUTHBEACH HANOVER hadn't

shown much in his first few local tries but he dropped in class last week and just crushed the field on the

front end - steps back up, but anything close to that last mile would make him a player again tonight. (3)

SARANAC BLUE CHIP has put together back to back solid years - he was a winner at Fhd. 3 back with

Siegelman, and they pair up again tonight - a good trip could land him a good piece. (6) REAL WILLEY

was a good 4th last week and been a pretty solid performer, in general - ok to use for 3rd/4th. (8) LUCK

BEWITHALEX probably won't be able to get involved from out here...but he DOES throw big miles when

in the right mood, and never a bad one to consider when the price is juicy enough. (7) THE REAL ONE

doesn't seem sharp enough right now to do any real damage from all the way out here. (2) BLUEBIRD

RECON draws well, but seems a bit below the main players. (5) SEZANA N is completely buried here, and

it's anybody's guess why her connections entered her against these tough males.

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