Belmont Park Hotlist - May 22

New York Hot List races to watch – Sunday, May 22, 2022 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.

2^nd race [NY, OC45k/N2X, 1 1/16mi TURF] – (2) Cara’s Dreamer (B) ran well after a winter layoff when she rallied for second after racing wide. (5) Marvelous Maude comes back from a November break when she missed the win by a neck in a similar spot at Aqueduct. (7) Classic Colors has not raced since Saratoga but Christophe Clement is one of the best trainers off of long layoffs. (10) Instinctive who also took the winter off after a poor effort on the dirt at Parx ships back up to Belmont Park to face NY-breds again where she ran well in her only try against state-breds.

3^rd race [Seek Again, 1 mi TURF] – (4) Masen made his American debut for Chad Brown in the Makers Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland and missed the win by a nose after having the lead. (1) Field Pass is a multi-graded stakes winner last year who had been off since the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) before returning to run third in the Henry Clark at Laurel Park. (3) Wolfie’s Dynaghost found a home on the turf and was second in the Appleton (G3) at Gulfstream Park last month. (2) Duke of Hazzard moves to the barn Wesley Ward as a new gelding and will make his American debut after running in the Woodbine Mile (G1).

4^th race [NY, Md 25000, 6 ½ F] – (2) Johnselectricride tried the turf last time and now moves back to the main track while dropping back to today’s level where he missed the win by a neck. (3) Limit Up set the pace and finished second last time about two weeks ago. (8) He’sgottashortfuse also has a second-place finish the last time that he raced at this level three starts back. (5) Perfect Banker will drop down to this level for the first time in his career.

9^th race [Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (9) Necromancer (B) returned to the grass but got off to a poor start after getting bumped and having to check. He was last in a big field as a horse that had been a pace presser. (7) Vocalize will drop down from three maiden special weight efforts at Gulfstream where his closing style did not fit well on that speed favoring turf course. (4) Broken Spur will drop out of a maiden special weight debut for Bill Mott and go from dirt to turf. (5) Empire Ridge comes back from a January layoff into a claimer for the first time and goes back to turf sprinting where he has a second.

Best bets:  Masen (3^rd); Johnselectricride (4^th). Best value:  Cara’s Dreamer (2^nd); Necromancer (9^th)