Aqueduct Hotlist - December 4

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Saturday, December 4, 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 worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (2) Fenwick (B) was second in his debut for the Asmussen barn not far behind a Chad Brown runner and well ahead of the rest of the field. (1) Script made a late rally and had to alter course in his first start at Laurel for Graham Motion. (7) Long Term is the first foal from a mare that won $418,000 on the track as a stakes winner and having placed in graded stakes. The home-bred for Mike Repole is trained by Todd Pletcher. (6) Braille will make the first start of his career for Shug McGaughey whose barn is winning at a 30% clip at the current Aqueduct meeting.

7^th race [Go For Wand (G3), 1 mi] – (7) Sharp Starr will try and win back to back runnings of the Go For Wand following a decisive victory in the Empire Distaff on a sloppy track. She has great record at Aqueduct and at the mile distance. (2) Lady Rocket ships up from Churchill Downs again with wins in 2 out of her last 3 starts. The two most recent were at Belmont Park with a win in the Pumpkin Pie and a second in the Gallant Bloom (G2). (4) So Darn Hot comes off a place finish in the Turnback the Alarm (G3) which was run as a one-turn nine-furlong test at Belmont. (6) Truth Hurts won the Pumpkin Pie to keep her record perfect on wet tracks. She has an excellent record at the Big A and in one-turn miles.

8^th race [Remsen (G2), 1 1/8 mi] – (7) Zandon (A) saved ground in the early going of his debut for Chad Brown while dealing with heavy kickback and once clear won convincingly. (1) Mo Donegal broke his maiden in his second start for Todd Pletcher after a troubled trip in his first try. The third-place finisher in that race came back to win. (3) Judge Davis broke his maiden in his second try for Shug McGaughey going 8.5 furlongs at Belmont. He then ran third in the Nashua (G3). Blinkers go on and he is one who should handle the nine-furlong distance which can be daunting at Aqueduct. (2) Who Hoo Thats Me has competed exclusively against NY-breds in four races. That experience edge will be an advantage.

9^th race [Demoiselle (G2), 1 1/8 mi] – (5) Nest (B) was a debut winner for Todd Pletcher that used a late run to finish a close third in the Tempted. She looked like a horse that would appreciate the added distance. (4) Nostalgic was an impressive first out winner for Bill Mott. The time was slow, but she won so easily that she should make a big step forward as most young Mott runners do. (7) Magic Circle won at first asking at Saratoga for Rudy Rodriguez and then was fourth in the Frizette (G1) and a close second in the Tempted. Rudy has won stakes like this at Aqueduct on several occasions. (6) Tap the Faith rallied from last to first to win her debut for Christophe Clement.

Best bets:  Fenwick (1^st); Nest (9^th). Best value: Sharp Starr (7^th); Zandon (8^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 on races 7-9 is an all-graded stakes Pick 3 à 2, 7 with 1, 2, 3, 7 with 4, 5, 6, 7 = $32.