Belmont Park Hotlist - June 17

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, June 17, 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 [NY, Md Sp Wt, 5 ½ F] – (6) Coinage (A) had an excellent third in his debut at odds of 9-5 for Mark Casse. The son of Tapit sold for $450,000 as a yearling. (2) Silver Samurai is the first of two debut runners in this race for Kelly Breen who is good with 2-year-olds making their first starts. This one is out of a mare that was a stakes winner as a juvenile. (3) Juggler is the other Breen horse and he sold for $115,000 and is out of a mare that was a graded stakes winner. (1) Surprise Boss is a half-brother to a mare that produced Wonder Gadot and Not Hard to Love. He will ship up from Parx to face NY-breds.

4^th race [Clm 40000 N2L, 6F] – (6) Benintendi will ship up from Maryland for his 2021 debut and will drop into a claimer for the first time. Last seen he was second in an allowance. (7) Trash Talker was a maiden special weight winner and will also run for a tag for the first time after recent allowance efforts. (8) Full Court Press broke his maiden for a $50,000 tag at Belmont Park, so this is the right move to be competitive. (2) Deputy Flag was second three races back at this level and then had a pair of throw-out races. New trainer Rudy Rodriguez moves him back to N2L competition.

6^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 ¼ mi TURF] – (7) Flaming Rouge (A) raced in France before joining the barn of Christophe Clement. She was second in her American debut against a strong field as evidenced by her odds of 8-1. She should appreciate the added 1.5 furlongs of distance. (1) Single Soul improved to run third back in November for Graham Motion and now makes her 2021 debut with first-time Lasix. (4) Palamos is also from the Motion barn and was bred in Great Britain. She was fourth in that same race as her stablemate. She did have the race high speed figure last year. (3) Miss Bonnie T was second or third in her last four starts and now gets the services of Jose Lezcano who is the hottest rider in New York right now, making all of the right moves.

9^th race [NY, Md 40000, 1 1/16 TURF] – (3) Lord Flintshire showed a big improvement when he faced NY-breds for the first time in his initial start for Jorge Abreu. (8) Kanithappen got roughed up in his 2021 debut against open company at Gulfstream Park. (10) Straight Skinny gets the blinkers on in his second career start after showing late interest in a fast seven-furlong debut. (7) Tough Workout was entered to make his first start on the turf but ended up on a sloppy main track at Belmont where he set the early fractions. Rudy Rodriguez brings him right back in a similar spot hoping to race on the grass this time.

Best bets:  Coinage (1^st); Lord Flintshire (9^th). Best value: Benintendi (4^th); Flaming Rouge (6^th).