Belmont Park Hotlist - April 22

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, April 22, 2021 at Belmont Park
                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 50000, 1 mi] – (3) Full Court Press gets blinkers on for Bill Mott after two starts in maiden special weights at Gulfstream Park. (1A) Principino will also drop out of the maiden special weight ranks. He ran well in all of his starts including last time on sloppy track at Aqueduct. (7) Triple Americano recorded the best speed figure in the field in both of his starts against NY-breds. We’ll see how that translates to this spot. (5) Zuzudini has two starts in maiden claimers following a long layoff and most recently was third on a muddy track at the Big A.

3^rd race [Md 40000, 6F TURF] – (3) Zerenia (D) made her 2021 debut on the turf at Aqueduct going a mile when she broke slowly and then rallied through traffic after getting bet down from 8-1 to 6-1. She gets blinkers on and cuts back in distance. (6) Determined Heart was beaten by just a neck in her turf debut at Laurel Park after making up 18 lengths in a maiden special weight. (9) Ostracize was third beaten by a neck going a mile on the grass at Fair Grounds for a $40,000 tag. (7) Levelplayingfield is a Chad Brown runner who was fourth in her debut on the dirt.

6^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 1/4 TURF] – (7) Spatial was fourth in her debut at Tampa Downs last month. The son of War Front should appreciate the 10 furlongs. (2) Coalition Building returned to the races following a layoff of more than a year and ran fourth at Gulfstream Park. She has been off again, but trainer Chad Brown does not like to run on that turf course. (1) Community Adjusted debuted fourth at Saratoga and was fourth again at Gulfstream following a six-month break for Christophe Clement. (5) Higher Truth is another Chad Brown trainee. She was bet to 5-1 for her debut and finished sixth after getting far behind at the start.

7^th race [Alw 92000, 6.5F] – (2) Aunt Kat was last seen in March as a runaway winner of her maiden race while sprinting at the Big A. That win yielded the highest speed figure in this field. (1) Pleasant Orb will make her 2021 debut after finishing second in the Acorn (G1) behind the runaway winner Gamine who was the Champion Female Sprinter. (5) Ruvies in Time won her last two races, one against NY-breds in a top-level allowance and then an open company stake. (6) She’s a Black Belt has seven in the money finishes in her recent races including the last two at today’s allowance level.

Best bets:  Full Court Press (1^st); Aunt Kat (7^th). Best value:  Zerenia (3^rd); Spatial (6^th).