After a track-record performance in his Messenger Stakes elimination last week, Jimmy Freight will need to overcome the most unfavourable starting position at Yonkers Raceway – Post 8 – in Saturday’s $500,000 final. While that presents a degree of uncertainty regarding the colt’s prospects in the race, owner Adriano Sorella is hopeful his horse possesses the skills to get the job done.
Jimmy Freight, who won his Messenger elimination in 1:50.3 to become the fastest three-year-old pacing colt in the track’s history, will have regular driver Louis-Philippe Roy in the sulky for trainer Andrew Harris and is the 5-2 morning-line favourite.
Horses win from Post 8 at Yonkers at a rate of 4.1 per cent. Posts one through five at the half-mile oval produce winners at a minimum 15.4 per cent clip.
“What are you going to do? You draw the eight-hole, you draw the eight-hole,” Sorella said. “I’m not thrilled about it, but Louis knows what he’s doing and the horse has been super, super sharp. He’s a great half-mile horse and we know he can come from off the pace. We’ll see how it plays out this weekend.”
Sorella, who paid $30,000 to supplement Jimmy Freight to the Messenger, would like to see the open draw for eliminations winners eliminated in the future. A number of stakes finals already permit the connections of elim winners to pick post positions for the final or allow elim winners to draw for inside positions prior to the open draw for the remainder of the field.
“I knew going into (the Messenger) that it was an open draw, so it’s not like it was a big shock to me,” Sorella said. “I don’t think you should be able to pick your post, but I think elimination winners should draw one through five, or something along those lines. If you want competitive eliminations, the elimination winners should get compensated in some way.
“I know people will say it’s only because we drew the eight-hole, but we’ve had this conversation all year when we’ve talked about these half-mile tracks.”
Jimmy Freight, pictured victorious with Louis-Philippe Roy during his elimination of the Messenger Stakes (Mike Lizzi)
The Messenger is one of four stakes for three-year-olds Saturday at Yonkers. The card also includes the $500,000 Yonkers Trot, which is the second jewel in the Trotting Triple Crown, as well as the $129,014 Hudson Filly Trot and $112,904 Lady Maud. Racing begins at 6:50 p.m. (EDT) with the stakes events going in succession – Hudson, Lady Maud, Yonkers Trot, Messenger – as races four through seven.
Stay Hungry, who won the first jewel in the Pacing Triple Crown, the Cane Pace, will start the Messenger from Post 6. The final jewel in the crown, the Little Brown Jug, will be contested on September 20 at the Delaware County Fair in central Ohio.
Springsteen, who drew Post 1, is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line, followed by Stay Hungry at 4-1. Babes Dig Me, who won the other Messenger elimination in 1:52.2, is 8-1 early from Post 5.
Jimmy Freight – a son of Sportswriter out of Allamerican Summer who was born in Iowa and raced the early part of his career in the Hawkeye State – has won 15 of 25 career races and hit the board a total of 24 times. He has earned $519,274, with all but $6,120 coming since Sorella bought the colt in July 2017. Jimmy Freight won twice in Ontario last year and finished second in the Ontario Sires Stakes championship.
He was lightly staked to races at the beginning of this season, thus leaving Sorella to supplement if he wanted to see Jimmy Freight compete in some of the sport’s big events. Sorella paid $61,690 to get Jimmy Freight into the Meadowlands Pace and the horse finished in a dead-heat third in his elimination and fourth in the final.
If Jimmy Freight wins the Messenger, he would be eligible to supplement to the Little Brown Jug in September.
“We knew he would be good, we just didn’t know how good he would be,” Sorella said. “Training back, he was in Anthony Beaton’s barn. I watched him train down and he looked good to me. I think we were a little more concerned about the horses coming back that were so strong at (age) two that we kind of left him out of a little bit and staked him more toward the end of the year. That kind of bit me.
“It’s been a fun ride, but it could have been a lot cheaper, that’s for sure. But at the end of the day the horse deserves to be in those races and he’s showed us that he’s one of the top three-year-olds. This is why you buy horses and you race them, to try to get a good one like this. When you have one, you don’t want to think twice about some of the stuff you want to do with them. You want to go to those races so you’re not kicking yourself afterwards for not trying.”
Jimmy Freight’s wins this year include four divisions of the Ontario Sires Stakes and a division of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes. He finished third to older rivals Sintra and McWicked in the Gold Cup, where he rallied from eighth place with a :26.3 final quarter-mile.
“Maybe he shouldn’t have been in there, but we put him in there anyway to give him a race,” Sorella said. “He was trying the whole way and closing hard. I like the fact that he’s got gate speed or can come from behind. We’ve seen him on the lead, but some of his better races have come from off the pace.
“This horse has got a big heart and nothing really fazes him. He went a big mile the other night. We knew it was coming because he likes the half and he’s a pretty handy horse. I don’t know if we’ve seen the bottom to him yet, but I don’t think we have.”
Following is the field for the Messenger in post-position order.
(PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-Morning Line)
1-Springsteen-Brian Sears-Rene Allard-3/1
2-Winston-Corey Callahan-John Butenschoen-20/1
3-Topville Olympian-Jim Morrill Jr.-Chris Oakes-7/1
4-JK Wildfire-Jason Bartlett-Brett Pelling-7/1
5-Babes Dig Me-George Brennan-Tony Alagna-8/1
6-Stay Hungry-Doug McNair-Tony Alagna-4/1
7-Nutcracker Sweet-Jordan Stratton-Jimmy Takter-20/1
8-Jimmy Freight-Louis Roy-Andrew Harris-5/2
(USTA)
I do agree with you too Sal,
I do agree with you too Sal, that supplemental entries should not really want to be posting to many opinions about fairness. You are correct that if you do not stake your horse well early on you shouldn't get to buy in later. It's a risky game but taking that risk is part of the game. It would also encourage breeders to stake their horses as the sales price at auction would be lower on the non-staked ones as the new owners will know they can't go the supplemental route.
Possibly exceptions should still be allowed for the Breeders Crown races as they are to be best-on-best competitions.
The jug is way different, the
The jug is way different, the elimination is held the same day, so race winners should draw inside. The only way to do it, I think, is the way Yonkers has, with all horses on the gate. By the way, the only thing Jimmy will be following tonight is the gate... I love horse racing! Gitty up, Louis-Philippe Roy.
The outside 2 post positions
The outside 2 post positions should start behind the 1 and 2 horse on each size track i.e the 9 and 10 on mile tracks. The eight hole having a 4.1 % winning percentage on 1/2 mile tracks indicates how unfair and biased that pp is. I've always found it ridiculous, and those pp should only be used in a Handicap race situation as they're very difficult to overcome.
Spot on Will. Make a race of
Spot on Will. Make a race of it!
In reply to Spot on Will. Make a race of by Gord Brown
I enjoy watching elims for
I enjoy watching elims for big races but i will not wager on them favourite goes to the front and the rest race for entry to next week big race. I like the open draw for finals on any size track that is horse racing seen a lot of good horses get beat in big races because of circumstances and seen a lot of good horses overcome circumstances to win big races... these are the ones I call Great Horses. Sonny
I gotta be the one that
I gotta be the one that disagrees here.
You enter the race, knowing full well the conditions, you take the cards dealt. Winning the 50% winner's share of the elimination is your reward for winning the elimination. The final, is another day. There is no point in entering the finals for the horses that finish fourth if they are automatically stuck out in the grandstand for a start, why not scratch?
I like seeing these huge favorites stuck out on the outside and seeing them have to work. Watching them zoom first or second away on a half miler, doesnt make for an amazing final.
This subject is very
This subject is very interesting. For the ½ mile track, I believe the solution is simple. Considering that you want to have 8 horses in the race and considering that you want the 8 horses to have the same % of chance of winning, the track needs to have a special starting gate in diagonal at a certain degree that will allow every horse from post 2 to 8 to start ahead of the horse inside him. I do believe that the gate at Tioga is a little bit like that even if it’s a 5/8 track.
I'm not sure people should be
I'm not sure people should be rewarded with the chance to make supplemental nominations and then get handed the best post positions. It makes a little guy like me laugh when someone who didn't even spend the money to stake his horse to the race to begin with, is complaining and talks reform in the draw of that race after his poor draw. Supplemental nomination? Isn't it a slap in the face to the people who spent the money and took the risk in the first place? If you have "the sharp" or the "top horse" that's the only reason someone would consider making the payment at all. How is the payment amount established? When you consider the risk in buying, and median price of the of the top 10% of yearlings these days, this little stakes payment is a good roll of the dice when you already have the money in your pocket to blow.
If you don't get to pick your
If you don't get to pick your post for the final if you win your elim, what's the point of even trying to win it? If the top 4 horses in each elim all go to the final, then why not just give your horse a lackadaisical drive, just enough so it will finish in the top 4? I think the Jug has it right; win your elim, and even though you won't get to pick your post for the final, you're guaranteed an inside one, which is vital on a half-mile track.
The purses in eliminations
The purses in eliminations are almost always a small fraction of the final. Having an open draw in the final takes away most of the incentive in the elimination to do more than qualify for the final. Doing well in an elimination should earn something more that a few dollars. My suggestion would to have the elimination winners pick their post positions, then have the second place finishers in the elimination pick from the remaining post positions and so on. This would make the elimination races more competitive and more attractive for wagering. It is also fair to the horses who do well in the eliminations.
I do kind of agree Doc. But
I do kind of agree Doc. But wouldn't the Jug be much more exciting if the winners happen to draw 7 and 8 instead of getting away in post position order? Kinda think it would be a little more exciting!
I think Elim winners should
I think Elim winners should have an open draw for posts 1 to 5 in all finals. Even go as far as get rid of some of the stake conditions that have: pick your post in the final and make them all open. Any good horse can win with a draw from the 1-5 and then it still leaves a chance for some of the other horses to maybe draw inside and have a better chance at the final. We can't forget that possibly in the eliminations a good horse could draw outside 10 (or 8 on half mile) and lose the elimination because of that when the second best horse drew rail (and in that case the elimination winner gets to pick the post doesn't really equate to fair).
Winners draw 1-5, rest of field open and that way there is still a lot of randomness and fairness. As fans, bettors, and handicappers its a win-win-win and anything we can do to increase fan support and wagering should be done.
All big races should be races
All big races should be races on one mile
I don't comment on articles
I don't comment on articles but this is one that I agree 100% with Adriano, all elimination winners with big money finals, should receive some post position reward, especially on 1/2 mile tracks, and the 1-5 or 6 scenario would be more acceptable to the tracks that are looking for competitive good betting races, rather than winners picking the rail all the time. The Jug has done this for years, as have the NAC, Meadowlands Pace, etc. and these are all still considered some of the best standardbred races in the world, all with healthy wagers. The elimination winners of the Battle of Waterloo, Confederation Cup, and even gold and grassroot division winners should get some type of post position reward for their preliminary efforts. As Adriano has indicated, it is very disheartening to owners and trainers after such great efforts in eliminations and then facing tough and often improbable chances in rich finals. Its especially tough when you win an elimination in record time then the draw is done right after and poor luck happens, as in Adriano's case. We had nothing good enough for the BOW this year, but last year we did and after 3 previous outside draws in successive years, opted not to go and probably won't even nominate any next year. It's not sour grapes, but just a case of poor luck too many times. It would be nice to hear other comments and perhaps get a healthy dialogue going on the subject.