Aqueduct Hotlist - March 20

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Sunday, March 20, 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.

1^st race [Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (2) Rational Choice has the top two speed figures in this field in his last two starts by a large margin for Chad Brown. He was second last month. (1) Higher Quality is also from the Brown barn having debuted a year ago at Gulfstream Park when he was third. He returns as a new gelding. (5) Writeitontheice has three solid starts in similar spots for Rudy Rodriguez and Trevor McCarthy gets on board. (6) Nothingtoseehere will make his first start for Bill Mott against an undistinguished field.

2^nd race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (3) Twist Just Right showed lots of speed in her two starts as a juvenile but got off to a slow start in her first start of the year. She then had to race wide and was never a factor. (7) Carbon (7) will make her 2022 debut for Linda Rice with a few excellent starts last year as a 2-year-old. She will be first-time Lasix. (6) Royal Currency was second in her first two starts and then caught a muddy track. She will get blinkers on for Charlie Baker. (2) Bunty Windermere was second in her debut for a $40,000 tag and did not get claimed so trainer Jimmy Ryerson moves her up.

4^th race [Clm 25000 N2L, 7F] – (3) Tough Tickets won her debut at Tampa last February at even money for Christophe Clement and is now in the barn of Todd Pletcher. (2) Jerusalem Gates finished second last time for $16,000 and was claimed away from Linda Rice by Jeffrey Englehart. (1) Breaking Stones also was second and claimed for $16,000 in his most recent race. (5) Charger has been running against better competition and was claimed for $40,000 by Rob Falcone Jr. He will drop down and cut back from a mile distance while getting the meet’s leading rider Dylan Davis on board.

8^th race [Alw 50000s, 1 mi] – (4) Group Hug (C) was bet down from 7-1 to 5-1 and finished third in a similar race. (3) Full Moon Fever made a huge jump forward when she won a N2L claimer on a sloppy track in her second start following a layoff after being claimed by Mark Hennig. (7) Cousteau made his first start in a N2L claimer and was taken for $40,000 by Linda Rice after running third following a layoff. (2) Good Culture has three second-place finishes in a row since joining the barn of Gustavo Rodriguez.

Best bets:  Rational Choice (1^st); Tough Tickets (4^th). Best value:  Twist Just Right (2^nd); Group Hug (8^th).