Belmont Park Hotlist - May 8

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Saturday, May 8, 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 worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

2^nd race [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 6F TURF] – (12) Snicket (C) was bet down from 7-2 to 2-1 in her first start in 2021 while moving back to the grass. She was pinched back at the start and had to rally from last to finish second behind an unbeaten Jorge Abreu runner. (1) Kokopelli won her debut in November as the favorite for Christophe Clement and Joel Rosario and gets first-time Lasix here. (4) Herald Angel will make her 2021 debut after a 2-year-old campaign that included a maiden win against NY-breds and a couple of tries in two open company stakes for Michael Maker. (7) Queen Arella changes to the barn of Danny Gargan after racing at Gulfstream Park. She broke her maiden in her first start in Florida.

5^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F TURF] – (2) Thunderbird Café (A) was pinched back at the start of his debut and rallied from last to fourth. Linda Rice horses usually need a race to start their careers. (5) Sinful Dancer has a pair of seconds to begin his career on the dirt in a maiden race and then a state-bred stake. Now, this George Weaver runner moves to the turf as a son of War Dancer and gets Lasix for the first time. (9) Cotton will make his first start of the year as a new gelding following a trio of top three finishes in maidens. (3) Danzigwiththestars gets all the changes in his first start of the year – blinkers on, first-time Lasix, and a new gelding.

9^th race [Peter Pan (G3), 1 1/8 mi.] – (4) Wolfie’s Dynaghost (A) was an impressive winner of his debut back in November going seven-furlongs at Aqueduct. It was a rare first-time winner for trainer Tom Albertrani. He is a half-brother of Sadler’s Joy so the stretch out in distance is to his favor. (3) Promise Keeper is a new face in this group in the Peter Pan which have the Belmont Stakes as a possible goal. This son of Constitution began his career in January at Gulfstream for Todd Pletcher, broke his maiden in his second start, and then had a troubled trip in the Tampa Derby (G2). His recent win by more than five lengths in an allowance at Keeneland earned one of the highest speed figures in the field. (2) Nova Rags had some success on the Derby trail at Tampa and comes to this spot with a more versatile running style than others. He has tactical speed which may be to his advantage. (6) Risk Taking was a disappointing seventh in the Wood Memorial (G2) after two impressive wins at Aqueduct with blinkers on.

10^th race [Man o’War (G1), 1 3/8 TURF] – (1) Sovereign will make his American debut for Chad Brown after racing for Aidan O’ Brien against the best horses in Europe. He finished second at Ascot in a Group 1 race behind the great Enable but ahead of Japan. He won a Group 1 at the Curragh in Ireland over Anthony Van Dyck by six lengths. Brown wins with 26% of his European imports in their first starts. (8) Gufo will make his 2021 debut as a 4-year-old. Last year, he won the Belmont Derby (G1) for Christophe Clement in his only start at Belmont Park. In eight career starts he has five wins and has never finished worse than third. (2) Moon Over Miami has run twice at Gulfstream this year as a 4-year-old with a third and then a second in Grade 2 races run at long distances for the Hall of Famer Bill Mott. (3) Ziyad made the move last year from racing in France to America for Graham Motion with two third-place finishes in Grade 3 races in the fall. The 6-year-old will now make his first start of this year.

Best bets: Snicket (2^nd); Sovereign (10^th). Best value:  Thunderbird Café (5^th); Wolfie’s Dynaghost (9^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 on races 9-11  à 2, 3, 4, 6 with 1, 8 with 1, 2, 6, 9 = $32.