Meadowlands: Saturday, November 21

[Teach]

20-Cent Pick 5

Race One:

5 CLAYTONS BETTOR N was as game as they come in losing to Ruthless Hanover last week. I mean this Betterthancheddar-bred was as “tough as nails." This 5-year-old begrudgingly surrendered the lead in the stretch to the aforementioned Ruthless Hanover who was, in a word, “immense.” “The Ruthless One” stopped the tele-timer at 1:49.2. As the two horses dueled down the stretch they turned in a blistering 26.2 third panel. If Ruthless Hanover were “ruthless,” Claytons Bettor N was “determined.” Any improvement... I mean any slight improvement and this New Zealand-bred gets his picture taken in the “Big M” winner’s circle. It’s the “Kiwi Connection,” driver Dexter Dunn and trainer Kelvin Harrison. Others: 1 ACES ROCK; 8 PUT TO RIGHT; 4 FORCE N FURY.

Race Two:

4 MANCHEGO. "The Big Cheese," won the Breeders Crown final at Hoosier Park in her last. This Muscle Hill-bred 5-year-old turned in a sizzling 1:52 on Hoosier’s 7/8ths mile track. This Cantab Hall-bred came the final panel in 27 secs. A week earlier, this mare finished 2nd in a HoP Invitational. The final panel was run in a blistering 25.1 secs. Earlier in the year, Manchego set a new world record for aged trotting mares over a 5/8th's mile track when she tripped the timer in 1:49.3 in The Spirit of Massachusetts at Plainridge Park. "DD," Dexter Dunn, reprises the drive for trainer Nancy Takter, the daughter of Hall of Fame trainer, Jimmy Takter (Oh, I’m sure she’s proud of her lineage, but don’t introduce her that way; she’s been out on her own since 2014). Others: 5 LINDY THE GREAT; 1 ATLANTA

Race Three:

9 LADY CHAOS won the 2-year-old filly Breeders Crown final at Hoosier in her last. She does start from an outside post; yet she’s most capable of overcoming that handicap. Dave Miller, “Buckeye,” is in the bike for trainer Linda Toscano. This Cantab Hall-bred has won six of 10 lifetime starts. This filly set her lifetime mark of 1:53.1 in the KYSS final. Others: 1 ANOKA HANOVER; 11 MAZZARATI; 4 INSTA GLAM

Race Four:

3 SHAKESPEARE (“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.” Richard III). This 2-year-old Somebeachsomewhere-bred bay colt has yet to “break his maiden,” yet he has been competitive (3 second-place finishes and 3 third-place finishes in 9 lifetime tries). Is tonight the night he visits the “Big M” winner’s circle? I, for one, believe he has a distinct chance. The “Aussie,” Todd McCarthy, is in the bike for trainer Brett Pelling, a New Zealander who hails from the same town that brought us the legendary harness horse, Cardigan Bay. You may remember that Stanley Dancer drove “Cardy.” Others: 7 BAKLOUVA; 1 ALWAYS BE SWEET; 2 SIMON SAYS HANOVER.

Race Five:

11 ZENITH STRIDE is my cap-off-the-pick 5-with-a-longshot try. I believe this Muscle Hill-bred 2-year-old colt has an advantage in starting from the 2nd tier. This Credit Winner-bred should find a good spot for himself along the “rail” (pylons) as the field pushes into the first turn. This Open Access-bred was last seen finishing 4th in the “Big M’s” Kindergarten series. Last month, this colt won at “The Red Mile” in a sizzling 1:53.2. “The White Knight,” Brian Sears, reprises the drive for the Wellington, New Zealand native, trainer Mark Harder. Others: 4 ON A STREAK; 3 INCOMMUNICADO, 1 DELAYED HANOVER.