The Empire Report - Thursday, March 10, 2022 - Race Analysis
RACE 1 - (5) MAGICAL MISTRESS has been the most consistent of the mares in here, and was a close
2nd and 3rd since dropping to this level recently - has a positional edge on a couple of outside players, and
we'll make her the top pick for tonight's opener. (8) LUCKY ARTIST A beat the Open not long ago, and
was a close 3rd at the top level just 3 starts back - no clue why she came up so empty last week, but it
would be hard not to at least consider her at that 20-1 ML price...even from out here. (7) JIVE DANCING
A had a stellar 2021 season - seemed to be sharpening after a couple of starts back in '22, but she's another
that just threw a dud last week...another that could offer some big value IF she gets a quick wake up call.
(2) MONICA GALLAGHER probably appreciated the time off, and qualified against a very promising
import - could be tight enough to pick up a good piece here. (4) ANDRA DAY is listed as the 2-1 ML
choice but her current form doesn't seem to justify that price - better value with some others tonight. (6)
EYE POPPING had a long dry spell - perked up with a few nice efforts, but seems to have gone back in the
wrong direction recently. (1) NORMANS MADELINE has been away since 12/9 and figures to need a start
or two. (3) CASH ROLL looked well short in her first try off the layoff.
RACE 2 - Tough race: (6) IRON MISTRESS beat this class in her last start before the winter break - has
been facing tougher ever since, and not embarrassing herself at all...if Ginsburg can land on a decent trip
here, she may have a shot to get her picture taken. (8) CAMPUS QUEEN continues to draw horribly, but
this is a field soft enough for Stratton to at least consider sending her out of there - chances go way up if
she can improve position at the start without being used too hard. (2) CORSINI A steps up a peg off last
week's 3rd place finish, but she fits well with most of these too - draws inside, and that gives her at least a
chance here. (1) TEAM KIWI N has been struggling to find her form this year - suppose she was a little
better last week, so we'll see if she can continue to improve from this good spot. (3) DIAMONDTOOTHG
ERTIE has been racing ok, but with lesser - maybe a small piece? (5) WESTBEACH hasn't found her form,
even as she's been dropping in classes - this mat be the spot where she wakes back up, but hard to take a
short price on her right now. (4) IDEAL CLASSIC has been away since August - we'll just watch, for now.
(7) COLOR ENVY draws Post 7 making her first start in over a year - definitely a pass at this point
RACE 3 - (4) WESTMONT Z TAM doesn't have the most appealing form recently at The Meadows but
she ships over from connections that have sent seemingly a zillion winners to this barn, and we'll just hop
on board that (reliable) angle against this very beatable bunch. (5) MILADY DENVER A comes up with a
few big efforts here every year - if she's in the right mood tonight, she'll have a shot to come out on top. (3)
TELL ME A JOKE was well backed last week and came up with a big first over effort, coming up a close
2nd best to a mare that came back and won again the next week - logical threat tonight. (1) JOSSIE JAMES
A is normally found in the top mare classes, so it's pretty shocking to see her down at this bottom rung - she
may just run and hide from these, but she really didn't look very good last week, and could be vulnerable
tonight at a pretty short price. (6) ACEFOURTYFOUR Alex will surely appreciate the double drop, but
she'll still need trip luck to win from Post 6 - a heavily contested pace increases her chances significantly.
(2) FEAR MY SHADOW finished ok from an impossible spot last week, and has gone some solid efforts
here in the past - ok for a piece, at a price. (7) SLICK ARTIST A left ok last week but when she was
angling in for a tuck, CLASSY CHAPEL N swerved right into her, forcing her to grab up hard and retreat
to last (incredibly, there wasn't even an inquiry posted for this blatant violation) - obviously she gets a pass
for last week, but tonight's draw figures to limit her chances significantly. (8) CLASSY CHAPEL N darted
out sharply to her right in the first turn last week, smashing right into SLICK ARTIST A - she recovered
and was able to drop in 3rd, but failed to fire at all in the stretch (at 3/5), despite sitting right off a pair of
battling leaders - it's almost unfathomable that no action was taken against her for what was a clear cause
for disqualification, 100% of the time
RACE 4 - (1) VELOCITY MCSWEETS has elevated her game significantly since joining this barn this
winter, and she's holding that form at these higher levels - could be looking at a pretty nice trip tonight, and
she'll probably even be a fair price - worth using, for sure. (3) VIOLETS RAINBOW has been very sharp
since returning from the sick scratch (1/19), and her barn is as strong as ever - very legitimate threat tonight
but MAY end up overbet (7) EASY TO PLEASE has been a wonderful addition for her current connections
and seems to be headed for a terrific 4YO campaign - she's also likely prepping for the upcoming
Matchmaker Series, and may be handled fairly conservatively from this spot - may win anyway, but don't
jump at a short price this week. (4) FIGHTING EVIL is in fine form right now, fits this class well, but does
catch a few very sharp rivals - may have to settle for s smaller share this time. (8) EDGE OF ETERNITY
was 2nd at this level 2 back, then scored from Post 7 dropping one notch last week - very tough spot with
so many sharp ones inside of her, however. (5) DEMETER N seems to need a bit easier these days to do
any serious damage - wait for an easier spot. (6) COOLNCALCULATING N is good right now, but is
another that is at a disadvantage tonight due to the draw. (2) LAURIE LEE gets some much needed post
relief, but it may not be enough to help her in this strong field
RACE 5 - (1) SURREAL FEELING qualified usefully upstate after 3 months off and last week's local mile
should serve as a good tightener - she can beat better than these when sharp, and the guess is that she'll be
ready to go tonight. (2) SPORTS FLIX has actually been pretty good since returning from a 2 month hiatus
- looking at a good trip tonight, and could be a major threat in her current form. (4) NEVERFORGETWHO
UR threw a rare dud last week but it's probably a good sign that she drops right back in the box - gets her
fair share of wins every year, and is worth considering here if the price is right. (6) BOLT OF BEAUTY sat
last from Post 8 in her first local start of 2022 and had no prayer - she's done enough damage here in the
past, though, to at least merit some consideration tonight with a little bit of post relief. (3) CORAL BELLA
went on a major tear after being claimed for $12,500 a few months back, but has come back to earth in a
big way in her last few starts - she'll be a good price if you think a wake up call could be coming. (7)
LADYBELUCKYTONITE gave a good, aggressive try when 2nd last week, but that was one level down,
and from the pole - not sure she's up for that kind of effort from out here. (8) MORNING HAS BROKEN is
sharp for sure, but she's up in class and will be coming from last - tough assignment. (5) MYSTIFYING
seems a bit overmatched against some of these
RACE 6 - (5) JOE EXOTIC has been MUCH improved since the barn change 4 starts back - was a little
surprised he couldn't get 2nd last time, but he adds Lasix for tonight and that may explain why he was a
little short last time - gets top billing here. (6) INFINITE ZETTE is 0 for 11 at YR but has raced well
several times - picked up a end last week to a "threepeat" winner, and should be a live player again tonight.
(4) DUKE OF LINDY stays trotting, has speed, and has outraced his odds on several occasions - always a
good one to include underneath. (1) SV ROYAL FLUSH looked to cut the mile last week, was outrushed
by the favorite to 3/4s but did hold well for 4th - definitely a chance for a piece from the pole. (7) CREATI
VE VENTURE has the ABILITY to beat these, but he's been away since October - guessing that he'll need
one, but a check of the tote board may be a good idea. (3) IDENTITY POLICE hails from a live barn but
he's 5-0-0-0 here at Yonkers, and plagued by slow starts - not impossible, but also no value at that 2-1 ML
price. (2) SQUABLE just hasn't been an actual threat in too long to seriously consider tonight. (8) BIG
CHARLIE MORAN throws a good one at times, but will be up against it from Post 8
RACE 7 - (8) BETTERB CHEVRON N gets stuck with yet another horrible post, but she IS good enough
to overcome it against these, with just a bit of trip luck - let's give her the nod, and hope that Marohn has as
much confidence in her as we do. (3) ANNE BONNEY N was a decent 3rd dropping to NW10000 last
week, and now drops yet another peg - draws inside once more, and should be able to have a big say
tonight. (1) SHADY MADAM shipped in last week to new connections, landed on a pretty good trip and
might have been right there on the wire if not for a costly final turn miscue (from which she recovered
nicely) - a clean effort puts her right in the mix tonight. (4) FIRSTUP has struggled to WIN races here the
last couple of years but she is a decent fit with these when she shows up in a good mood - consider only if
she's a good price. (7) PRAY THE ROSARY got pretty good for a while but just hasn't looked as good
recently - tough post even if she shows up feeling better this week. (2) E R HILARY struggled for a few
starts but did look better last week off the claim - chance for a piece. (6) WOODMERE HARRIET reversed
form to score a nice win (vs. cheaper0 3 back, but then was no factor again in her last pair -leaning towards
others. (5) BETCHA BABY pretty much stole one last week at the bottom level, in a slow mile that sort of
fell apart - seems unlikely against this much tougher bunch
RACE 8 - (5) MUSCLE JACK looked terrific shipping in and winning here in 1:55.3 back on 2/17...but
wasn't as popular with the fans the next week, when he made an early miscue as the 1/5 favorite - we'll give
him a chance to make amends tonight. (2) PASS KEY won 9 of 21 starts at 3, and he's looking good so far
(at Dover) as a 4YO - gets Zeron for his local debut, and should be able to make his presence felt. (6)
AWESOME TRIX has legitimate ability, but was forced to re-qualify after a couple of miscues (the trainer
listed for that Pocono qualifier should be familiar to Yonkers fans, from year ago) - she'll probably be
handled conservatively here, but may still be able to rally for a good piece. (8) HEARTOFGOLD DEVIE
has been much improved in her current barn, and was FULL of trot once finally free last week - brutal spot,
bit a good bomb for the bottom of exotics. (3) DROP THE MIC really disappointed vs. easier in his first
start back off the layoff - faces even tougher now, but may do better with a "relax and rally" kind of trip. (1)
CREDIT CON has behaved twice with the hopples added, but just hasn't been finishing well enough -
maybe the inside draw can help? (4) TITANS HOPE makes good trips for herself by leaving quickly, and
staying flat - always a chance to grab a share that way. (7) BLANK SPACE AS adds Lasix and may
improve...but may need to wait for a better spot before we see his best
RACE 9 - Extremely difficult race with 5 of these eligible to the upcoming Matchmaker Series....and no
way to really know how aggressively any of them may be handled this week! (5) MANDONTFORGETME
capped off her $150K season with a blowout win here on 12/9 and has looked good since returning in 2022,
rallying crisply for 3rd in NJ, before picking up a front end win here at Yonkers - we'll guess that Bartlett
races her aggressively tonight, and make her the top pick. (3) JODY has been off 3 weeks since making a
break in the Open last start - on her best, she's shown that she can be a handful. (1) WESTERN WISH
invades from Canada and has looked good at 4 after producing an excellent 3YO campaign - guessing she'll
be part of this from the pole tonight. (4) IMPRINCESSGEMMAA is hitting on all cylinders right now, and
looms a live player again tonight - may be a bit overbet against some tough mares, though. (6) SIESTA
BEACH has always been a favorite in this corner, and may be a solid Matchmaker performer again this
year - she's been away since 10/28, however, and may not be all that cranked up just yet. (7) GOLDEN
QUEST N raced much better last week (off the layoff) than her line looks, finishing with good energy after
being shuffled back in the Open - would have been picked much higher had she not drawn so poorly! (8)
MYSTICAL CARRIE was beyond game last week, in a "refuse to lose" stretch drive against #4 - may have
some trouble getting involved from out here, though. (2) DBLEDELITEBRIGADE N was forced to retreat
hard after looking to leave last week, and wasn't heard from after that- may need a little easier, but we'll see
RACE 10 - (5) BLUE IVY shipped in for last year's Matchmaker as a bit of an unknown but was able to
win a few legs, and was a game 2nd best in the Final - has prepped beautifully at The Meadows with a pair
of wins, and the guess is that she'll be handled aggressively in this short field in her Hilltop return. (4)
BEST HEAD WEST had no problem stepping up from age-restricted "NWPM" races to take on older
mares, then raced big last week in her first try at the top level - looks like she's developed into a legitimate
Open mare. (2) ROCKN PHILLY has really been thriving in her current barn, and raced better last week
than the line might suggest (lacked any room in the stretch) - eligible to grab a good piece here. (1) LIT DE
ROSE raced super for a bunch of starts after arriving from Canada, but MAY be slipping just a notch lately
- we'll see if she can turn things back up a bit from this excellent spot. (3) BITTY BITTY showed last week
that she can rough it, if necessary - she's only being picked on the bottom here because of the overall
quality of this (small) field
RACE 11 - (6) THE FUN MARSHALL has been holding her own week after week vs. much better- gets
major class relief here, and should be able to get it done despite the less than stellar draw. (3) DELISHKA
N moved to a barn that generally improves fresh stock significantly, and she was no exception - steps up off
last week's win, but look for her to be a serious player with these too. (2) MALNIFICENT gets the potent
combination of both class AND post relief, and that's usually a good angle - include in exotics. (5)
TOBAGO TIME picked up a pair of 3rds at this level and wasn't bad one level higher last week - drops
back down, and is a good one to use underneath. (7) BABS JANSEN went her best effort in a while last
week, coming up just a nose shy after a first over bid - would have liked her chances a lot more with a
better draw, though. (4) PAIGES GIRL was handled aggressively last week, earned a two hole trip and may
very well have been a winner if she shook free in the stretch - faces tougher tonight, but a small piece is
possible. (1) SCANDALICIOUS was able to wire the field in back to back weeks...but facing much softer -
don't think she can be that kind of a player against this bunch. (8) CHECKERED PAST is the outsider, both
literally and figuratively