Aqueduct Hotlist - March 12

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Friday, March 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.

4^th race [NY, Md 25000, 1 mi] – (3) Maria’s Gift finished second and third in her last two starts at this level while pressing the pace and may have found the right field to get that initial win. (2) Tremayne had a troubled start that cost her all chance but her third, two races back, makes her a contender. (6) Aurannian had the lead for the first two calls even after veering in at the start. Now she makes her third career start and has every right to move forward. (8) Theatrical Dancer has four starts and has yet to race on a fast main track but has speed figures that make her a contender in this race.

5^th race [Alw 50000s, 1 mi] – (2) Parade Field (C) dropped into a $20,000 open claimer, got bet down from 13-1 to 9-2, finished third with a rally from last, and got claimed. This starter allowance is filled with horses that don’t have strong form at that level. [(1X) Advance Notice has three second-place finishes in a row at this level/(1A) Democratic Values was an easy winner of a $40,000 maiden claimer and was taken by Rudy Rodriguez and is part of this Repole Stable entry.] (4) Grit and Glory has been claimed in two of his last three races including a win for $12,500 last time out. (5) Dust Devil ran fourth at this level last time and was an easy winner in a N2L $40,000 in his prior start.

6^th race [Clm 25000, 1 1/8 mi] – (2) Air Attack (B) was bet down from 5-1 to 5-2 and went on to press the pace while racing wide on an inside favoring track. He was claimed out of that race by Rob Atras. (6) Control Group is a 7-year-old who has won 15 times with five of them at Aqueduct and seven of them at this nine-furlong distance. He has been very competitive when he runs for a tag between $16,000 to $25,000. (4) Villainous won three in a row last year racing against much better and now makes his first appearance for a tag. (3) Kumar has raced and won against better recently and drops down to a much lower level in this claimer.

7^th race [NY, OC80k/C, 6F] – (1) Breakfastatbonnies (A) was an 11-length winner in her debut at odds of 2.40-1 on Jan. 2 for trainer Danny Gargan who is not known for winning with first-time starters. (5) Pleasure Luck broke her maiden by more than seven lengths at Aqueduct in December and then came back to run second in an allowance behind Make Mischief who went on to a stakes victory. (3) Irish Constitution gets Lasix for the first time as a 3-year-old after a disappointing sixth in a stake on a muddy track in her 2021 debut going a mile. She is stakes-placed against NY-breds last year. (4) Bustinmygroove was claimed in her last two starts – a maiden claiming victory and then a $32,000 open claimer where she was second.

Best bets:  Maria’s Gift (4^th); Breakfastatbonnies (7^th). Best value:  Parade Field (5^th); Air Attack (6^th).