While the majority of the horses remained the same in Week 16 of the 2018 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Poll, a pair of notable pacers cracked the top 10 en route to appearances at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.
Off impressive victories last Saturday, both Lather Up and Stay Hungry were voted into the top 10. Lather Up impressed in the Buckeye State, handily besting his Ohio Sires Stakes rivals at Scioto Downs in a sizzling 1:49.3 under wraps for driver Montrell Teague and trainer Clyde Francis as the 1-9 favourite. His performance placed him in the eight spot.
With two legs of pacing's Triple Crown in his grasp, Stay Hungry will aim for the third and final leg at Delaware on Sept. 20. The son of Somebeachsomewhere made a late lunge in his 2018 Simcoe Stakes division and got a nose up to win in 1:49.3. That mile edged him into the poll's top 10 at #10.
The top seven positions on the poll remain unchanged from Week 15, as 2018 Hambletonian winner Atlanta still occupies the top spot with 329 points (up from last week), and Manchego, who recently defeated Atlanta in the Casual Breeze, remains at No. 2 with 294 points (down from last week).
Atlanta and Manchego are scheduled to lock horns on Saturday, September 15 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in the $340,000 Elegantimage Stakes. Eliminations for the showdown were not required, as the connections of seven fillies entered their charges to contest the event. For more information, click here.
McWicked (222), Shartin N (217) and Courtly Choice (181) round out the top five, respectively.
The results from Week 16 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous Rank)
1. Atlanta (21) - 329 - 1
2. Manchego (10) - 294 - 2
3. McWicked - 222 - 3
4. Shartin N - 217 - 4
5. Courtly Choice (2) - 181 - 5
6. Hannelore Hanover - 105 - 6
7. Kissin In The Sand - 103 - 7
8. Lather Up (2) - 93 - NR
9. Marion Marauder - 91 - 8
10. Stay Hungry - 86 - NR
Also: Ariana G (53); Lazarus N (35); Mets Hall (13); Jimmy Freight, Plunge Blue Chip, Youaremycandygirl (11); Six Pack (10); Green Manalishi S (8); Captain Ahab, Wisdom Tree (7); Dorsoduro Hanover, Dream Together, Homicide Hunter (5); Crystal Fashion (4); Only Take Cash, Phaetosive, Split The House, Western Joe (3); All Bets Off, Dont Letem, Shower Play (2); Beckhams Z Tam (1).
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll is voted on by harness racing media representatives that cover North American Standardbred racing.
The rankings are based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine Horse of the Year. The U.S. Harness Writers Association votes in December on all Dan Patch Award division winners plus Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year. The Dan Patch Awards are separate from the O'Brien Awards, which recognize Canada's top Standardbreds of a given racing season.