Aqueduct Hotlist - January 2

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Saturday, January 2, 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.

2^nd race – (4) Left Leaning Lucy (D) broke quickly from the far outside post number 13 and could not sustain her bid and weakened to run fourth after getting bet down from 10-1 to 6-1. She is back in a similar N2L claimer. (2) Wings of Fire was a debut winner of a $20,000 maiden claimer for Jeremiah Englehart. She finds a rather weak field of horses seeking their second wins. (3) Elite Speed will make her first start for Wayne Potts after racing at Woodbine. Potts has already won with a few of these types at the current meeting. (7) Princess in Charge gets blinkers on and cuts back in distance to a sprint where she had success last winter at Aqueduct.  

6^th race – (5) Nebo (B) was second when she dropped down to a maiden claimer for the first time. In that race she shied away from strong urging by the rider and now gets Lasix and blinkers on while stepping back up to a maiden special weight. (9) Hip Number One (D) set the pace for the first half of her debut and finished fourth while getting bet down from 9-1 to 6-1. She gets first-time Lasix here in this NY-bred maiden race. (1) Jill’s a Hot Mesh returned from four months off to run second in a state-bred stake and gets Lasix for the first time for John Kimmel. (2) No Payne will make the move from turf to dirt after her first two races which include a second sprinting at Aqueduct when she had the lead.

7^th race – (4) Perceived has been away from the races since February when he broke his maiden by a neck at Aqueduct for Chad Brown. Now, he seeks his second win in a N2L $40,000 claimer. (3) Jerusalem Gates moves from the Parx barn of John Servis to that of Linda Rice after winning a maiden special weight and then running fourth in an allowance at the Pennsylvania track. (8) Sixto returns to the barn of trainer Eric Guillot who had him when he won his first start at the Big A. He has not run since August and comes back with first time Lasix, takes the blinkers off, and was gelded. (1) First Line impressed trainer Orlando Noda with a maiden special weight win at Saratoga but did not handle the next step in class. So, Noda puts him in a more reasonable spot.

8^th race – (5) Stan the Man has a second and a third in graded stakes and finds an easier spot here in the Gravesend going 6.5 furlongs. He has a stellar record at Aqueduct of 15: 5-5-1. (4) My Boy Tate also has five wins at the Big A with victories in NY-bred stakes and a recent allowance at Parx against open company. (3) Pete’s Play Call was claimed out of an allowance victory at Aqueduct in his most recent start by Rudy Rodriguez and Michael Dubb. (1) Happy Farm will make his first start since March when he had to be moved from the barn of Jason Servis after his indictment. Linda Rice has the graded stakes winner now.

Best bets: Perceived (7^th); Stan the Man (8^th). Best value:  Left Leaning Lucy (2^nd); Nebo (6^th).

@NYHotList Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 is on races 6-8 and ends with the Gravesend – 1, 5, 9 with 3, 4, 8 with 1, 3, 4, 5  = $36.