The old axiom is ‘it only takes one race,’ and that was evident this weekend in the Hambletonian Society Grand Circuit Handicapping Challenge.
What made it strange was that the saying was proven twice this weekend by one handicapper, as Bryan Owen was the top handicapper this week. For the second week in the row, Rusty Nash sits on top of the overall contest with a shuffling of the standings below him.
While Rusty Nash had five winners selected on Friday (10/20) night at Hoosier Park, it was good only for second place, as Owen selected Ella Christina ($72.00) in the Breeders Crown elimination for three-year-old pacing fillies as his lone winner for the evening. With his selection of the daughter of Western Ideal, Owen picked up a net profit of $98.40 for the evening – the dividend for win, place, and show on Ella Christina was $123.60.
On Saturday (10/21) night, the axiom was even more evident, as Sally Hinckley picked seven winners on the Breeders Crown elimination night card, yet ended up with a net loss of $4.90. However, completing the double was Owen with a net profit of $58.40, despite having no winners for the evening. This was accomplished thanks to Beckhams Z Tam finishing third, which was good for a $92.80 show mutuel, the beneficiary of a failed bridge jumper gambit.
For the second week in a row, Nash topped the season-long standings, 37.38 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Anne Stepien, who moved into second place. Gordon Waterstone moved up one spot into third place, while Megan Maccario slipped from second to fourth place. A total of 50.30 points separates first from fourth place meaning the contest may come down to the last day of the contest.
Next Up: While the focus will be on the Breeders Crown races this coming Friday and Saturday, the contest week will begin on Thursday, as the Kindergarten Classic’s fifth and final preliminary leg will be contested for late-blooming juveniles at Vernon Downs. Hoosier Park will host – in addition to the Crown finals – the Pegasus for three-year-old fillies of both gaits on Friday and the three-year-old colts and geldings on Saturday.
The following week, Saturday has an overflow of stakes from the Meadowlands and Hoosier Park of which the ten races will the highest purses will be used for the contest.
(HANA)