Aqueduct Hotlist - January 30

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Sunday, January 30, 2022 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.

4^th race [NY, Md 25000, 6 ½ F] – (5) Scat Brat (A) raced greenly in his debut back in February of 2021 at Aqueduct in a strong field and now returns for David Donk dropping down from a maiden special weight. (6) Tamburro’s Sox has the lead in the stretch his last two races and finished a length behind the winner both times. (3) Tough Workout faced open company last start and moves back to state-bred racing where he had a pair of thirds. (7) Vincent is a first-timer for Ray Handal and is worth considering especially if he takes some betting action.

5^th race [Clm 25000, 7F] – (6) Mount Travers (D) was bet down from 12-1 to 8-1 and now drops down from the $32,000 level. (3) Glory Road won for Tom Morley for $35,000 last time with a stalking trip. (4) Smile Bryan moved from turf to dirt and trainer Mike Miceli has been winning at 33% with that move. He ran well on the dirt at Aqueduct last winter. (1) Fast Break was claimed in 2 out of 3 races which he won while taking advantage of his early speed and that running style has had an advantage in New York recently.

8^th race [Jimmy Winkfield, 7F] – (2) Morello (A) was a debut winner for Steve Asmussen back in November at Aqueduct by more than four lengths over a horse that came back to win. (5) H P Moon was an open-length winner of his debut at Pimlico during the summer and has received a lot of attention as a potential top 3-year-old. (8) Hagler gets another chance after setting the pace in the Jerome and then fading on the sloppy track. The mile distance was a concern in that Kentucky Derby prep race and the cutback should suit him well. (7) Witty won a pair of PA-bred races including the $200,000 PA Nursery with a stalking trip. [Both H P Moon and Witty are entered at Laurel on Saturday. If they scratch out of the Winkfield, substitute in #4 Dance Code and #6 Life Is Great.]

9^th race [Clm 25000 N2L, 6 ½ F] – (6) Prisoner (A) was an open-length winner of his debut for Todd Pletcher back in June of 2020 at Belmont Park beating a heavily bet Wesley Ward runner. He comes back 18 months later for Rudy Rodriguez in this claimer with blinkers on, Lasix, and as a new gelding. (4) Swinton won a maiden special weight in November at Aqueduct and then was overmatched in a pair of starter allowances where he still flashed early speed. (2) Halpert was third when he moved from turf to dirt last time for Michelle Giangiulio who is winning at 67% at the Big A winter meeting. (8) Magnificent Chrome had the lead and was caught at the wire in a similar spot last time out.

Best bets:  Scat Brat (4^th); Prisoner (9^th). Best value:  Mount Travers (5^th); Morello (8^th).