Belmont Park Hotlist - October 10

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Sunday, October 10, 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.

4^th race [Alw 92000 N1X, 1½ mi TURF] – (9) Cold Hard Cash (A) had a rough trip in the final turn when he had to check sharply as he was rallying from far back and still just missed the win by a neck. (5) Quid improved significantly this year with five starts and all of them were good. The last three were at Colonial Downs which resulted in a win and a second. (8) Abaan was moved to the grass two races back by Todd Pletcher and he responded with a second then a win by more than seven lengths at Saratoga in a maiden special weight. (2) Onenightstandards was claimed for $80,000 last month by Michael Maker. This is a standard and often successful move by Maker – claiming for big prices and stretching horses out to long distances.

5^th race [Futurity (G3), 6F TURF] – (4) Slipstream (C) broke his maiden by more than five lengths for Christophe Clement after getting bet down from 5-1 to 7-2. (5) Chi Town Lady is 1 out of 2 fillies entered in this Grade 3 against the boys by Wesley Ward. They are both also in Saturday’s Matron (G3) for the girls, so I assume only one of them will run in this race. This filly is unbeaten in two career starts including a stake at Saratoga in her turf debut. (2) Midnight Worker won at first asking on the dirt at the Spa and then placed in the Sapling at Monmouth Park. Todd Pletcher has excellent stats moving horses from dirt to turf. (1) Run Curtis Run was a debt winner in a race meant for the turf in July at Belmont Park. He then romped in a NY-bred stake where he beat a horse that came back to win a Grade 3. After a poor finish, Michael Maker will now put him on the grass. (8) Poppy Flower is the other Ward filly who will be a fourth pick if Chi Town Lady does not run.

8^th race [Knickerbocker (G3), 1 1/8 mi TURF] – (8) En Wye Cee (A) is 1 of 2 horses in this race for Pletcher, both were being considered for the Joe Hirsch (G1) on Saturday. He had a troubled trip in his 2021 debut in August. Last year he was third in this race. (9) No Word is the other Pletcher and he was second last start in the Bernard Baruch (G2) at Saratoga. In 2020, he was competitive with top turf horses Domestic Spending and Gufo. (2) Breaking the Rules returned to win an allowance upstate for Shug McGaughey after competing against Grade 1 and 2 horses frequently last year. (4) L’Imperator won his first race of year in that allowance against the Hot List horse and then was third behind No Word. Chad Brown has him back in top form.

9^th race [Md 50000, 1 mi TURF] – (6) Battle Map (D) was claimed out of his debut from Danny Gargan after getting bet down from 13-1 to 9-1 where he finished eighth on a muddy track. He will be a vey big price in this spot. (3) My Boy Colton set the pace and finished second in his third career start that came when he moved back to the grass last month. Jockey change to a top turf rider will help also. (1) Deferred Taxes began his career with a pair of seconds early in the year in maiden special weights for Chad Brown. He had a few months off and caught a sloppy track in September. (5) Ember will make his first career start for Christophe Clement. The debut for a tag is curious, but the New York turf season is coming to a conclusion.

Best bets:  Cold Hard Cash (4^th); Slipstream (5^th). Best value:  En Wye Cee (8^th); Battle Map (9^th).