Aqueduct Hotlist - December 12

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Sunday, December 12, 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.

1^st race [NY, Md 25000, 6F] – (10) New York Banker will make her third start following a layoff after a strong effort just missing that elusive first victory by a nose. She has speed from the outside and Dylan Davis gets back on board. (4) Love’s Misery moves to the barn of Rob Atras, makes a drop in class following a third, and moves from turf to dirt. (2) Mill Stone Creek exits a second-place finish at Finger Lakes in an open company maiden special weight when she moved from turf to dirt. (7) Torren’s Tale has only raced twice in her career, both at Finger Lakes. Most recently, she was second far ahead of the rest of the field. She is a fresh face in this field where most have had so many tries already.

2^nd race [Clm 16000, 6 ½ F] – (6) Big Al’s Guy was claimed three races back for $20,000 by Rob Atras and then raced twice at much higher levels including a win for a $35,000 tag. (3) Shasta Star also drops down to a level close to which he was claimed and has speed that will be useful in this field. (5) Awesome Indra gets blinkers on for Ray Handal who claimed him two races back for $25,000 and has been actively claimed several times. (1) Stefanie on Fleek won her last two starts for $16,000 since moving from turf to dirt.

3^rd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6 ½ F] – (7) Lindros is a fresh face in this field where most have them come out of the same race. He comes back from a July layoff and moves from turf to dirt as a new gelding. (4) Forty Comets was second in that common race last time with top three finishes in all three of his starts. (2) Scherzando was third behind Forty Comets last time for owner and radio personality Steve Byk. (6) Feathers Road had a career best effort following a layoff in a turf sprint for Linda Rice. He did debut on the dirt at Aqueduct last year.

4^th race [Clm 16000 N2L, 1 mi] – (4) Scott Alaia broke her maiden for $30,000, was claimed for $25,000 by Mark Hennig, and moves to an appropriate level. (6) A Ring Thing was claimed for $16,000 several races ago and has run well in much tougher spots since then. The class relief should make a big difference. (7) Speed Zone improved steadily in her last four starts as she exits a win at Finger Lakes. (8) Happylife goes back to the main track where she sprinted to a maiden claiming score for a $16,000 tag.

Best bets:  New York Banker (1^st); Big Al’s Gal (2^nd). Best value:  Lindros (3^rd); Scott Alaia (4^th).