Aqueduct Hotlist - April 16

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Friday, April 16, 2021 at Aqueduct
                By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt

Hot List Key:
 A: A preferred horse to watch                         B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 1st through 3rd
*D: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 4^th or worse
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

2^nd race [Clm 14000 N3L, 1 mi] – (4) Vitesse (B) lost all chance to win at the break at odds of 9-2 and still managed to finish fourth. (1) Icy Dude returned from a September layoff and raced as part of the pace, took the lead, and ended up in second beaten by a neck. (3) Trappeze Artist was a winner of his N2L condition last time on a sloppy track at Aqueduct. (5) Beta gets a pass on his last start on the turf and now drops down in claiming price and condition to an appropriate level.

3^rd race [Md 20000, 6F] – (2) Sinashack (C) dropped down to this level, got bet to be the 7-5 favorite from 5-2, had the lead in the stretch, and got beat by a length to end up second. (6) Warfront Fighter now has now run second four times in a row including a loss by a neck last time. He has a big edge in speed figures so maybe this is the time for that maiden victory. (7) Jailbreaker runs as a new gelding and drops his claiming price in half. (1A) Awesome Yet Again gets first-time Lasix with hopes of getting on a dry track after doing very little running on a sloppy surface last time.

4^th race [NY, OC 40k/N2X, 6F] – (2) Bronx Bomber (B) leapt up at the break and then rallied from far back to miss the top spot by a neck as a horse that typically runs on or near the lead. (1) Bears Mafia returned from a November layoff and won the Kelly Kip starter allowance stake at the Big A and now goes back to state-bred company. (3) Dark Money won at this condition last time out and stays at this level using the $40,000 claiming option. (4) Steam Engine will do the same thing as a winner at this condition two races back and run for the OC tag.

5^th race [Clm 32000, 1 mi] – (6) Legit (A) was an impressive winner for Todd Pletcher when he dropped down to $20,000 level where he got claimed by Linda Rice. (2) Vintage Hollywood (C) will exit NY-bred races after running second for Orlando Noda while bet down from 14-1 to 10-1. (3) Malibu Pro set the pace and fell a neck shy of winning the More To Tell starter allowance stake in his first start for Rudy Rodriguez who had just claimed him for $40,000. (5) Whistling Birds will return following a January layoff, drops in for a tag for the first time, and moves to the New York barn of John Toscano Jr.

Best bets:  Sinashack (3^rd); Bronx Bomber (4^th). Best value:  Vitesse (2^nd); Legit (5^th).