Aqueduct Hotlist - December 10

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, December 10, 2020 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.

3^rd race – (2) Twisted Tom (B) ran third in October at Belmont Park after getting bumped and pinched back at the start. He was claimed out of the race for $40,000 in a NY-bred OC allowance from Michael Maker and comes back for Mertkan K. against open company. (1) Control Group was first or second in his last five starts on dry tracks for Orlando Nola who has this guy in fine form. (7) Someday Jones ships up to New York from Parx for John Servis and drops into a claiming race for the first time in his PPs after racing in stakes races for the most of his starts. (6) Legit gets blinkers on and drops into this claimer for the first time for Todd Pletcher.

6^th race – (12) Troubleshooter (D) raced very wide and finished fifth beaten by just two lengths after getting bet down from 8-1 to 9-2. He comes back in another NY-bred first-level allowance and gets blinkers on. (4) Cold Hard Cash lost a stretch battle by a head in a state-bred allowance following a victory against open company in a starter allowance for Linda Rice. (5) Advanced Strategy just missed on the turf last time out, but he has a couple of third-place finishes on the dirt for Jimmy Jerkens. (13) Kaz’s Beach is a late runner who should get an ideal set-up from lots of early speed after breaking his maiden by 10 lengths at Penn National.

8^th race – (5) Fresco (B) has a pair of seconds in turf sprints as Aqueduct hopes to get this race run on the grass. Last time, the Clement runner was wide on a turf course that was favoring inside speed, had the lead, and was passed nearing the wire. (10) Summer At the Spa has two thirds in her recent turf sprints for Jonathan Thomas. (2) Doll has early speed and lots of second-place finishes and returns to the NY-bred ranks in this allowance after a bunch of starts in claimers. (9) Graetz came back from a couple month layoff for the Bond barn which has strong numbers going second time after a break.

9^th race – (1) Loaded Joe (C) moved from turf to dirt and drops in maiden claiming price from $40,000 to $20,000 after taking heavy late money, dropping in odds from 20-1 to 12-1, and a second-place finish. He has hit the board on the dirt. (7) Breithorn was claimed for $30,000 two races back by Linda Rice who tried a maiden special weight on the slop and now drops in for the $20K. (9) Mucho Sunshine gets a pass from his last start on a sloppy track, but before that he set the pace and ended up second for $30,000. (4) Warfront Fighter fits at this level and could be part of the trifecta finish.

Best bets:  Twisted Tom (3^rd); Fresco (8^th). Best value:  Troubleshooter (6^th); Loaded Joe (9^th).