Belmont Park Hotlist - October 21

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, October 21, 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 [Clm 25000, 1 mi TURF] – (7) Blue Atlas (A) broke last in a $40,000 claimer, moved up, ran into traffic, and rallied well once clear. This will be her third start after a layoff. (6) Five Alarm Robin will make her first start for Michelle Nevin who gave her a short break and drops her in for the lowest price of her career. Nevin is having a strong Belmont fall meeting. (2) Bee Bit was claimed from three races in a row, most recently for $25,000. The new trainer moved her up to $40,000 where she ran into significant traffic after pressing the pace and, now, she is back to the claiming price. (8) Amos was last seen in May at Belmont Park in a starter allowance and she comes back here at the level from which Nevin claimed her.

7^th race [Md Sp Wt, 1 1/16 mi] – (5) Urban Forest (C) took late money in his debut, 12-1 to 8-1, at Saratoga where he ran third for Bill Mott behind a horse that was a return winner. (6) Mo Donegal (B) ran third in his career first start at Belmont for Todd Pletcher after getting steadied at the half-mile pole. He looked like a horse that wanted to go longer and gets that distance here. (7) Fromanothamutha ran second in his third start going today’s distance. He has improved in all three starts. (4) Constitutionlawyer will make his debut for Ray Handal with a fast five-furlong work two breezes ago.

8^th race [OC 80k/N2X, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (1A) Mo Ready tried two NY-bred stakes recently and ran poorly both times while racing without Lasix. Sandwiched between those two starts was a close second at today’s condition in which that medication is allowed on race day. (4) Atone was the winner of a first-level allowance at the end of the Saratoga meeting for Mike Maker. The second-place horse that day came back to win his next start. (9) Doswell has been off since January but has the best speed figures in the field. Before his break, he had a second and a third in graded stakes in Florida. (3) Attentive was claimed out of his last three starts, most recently by Linda Rice. He will run for a tag in here with seven career wins. He hit the board in his last five races.

9^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (5) Unicorn Sally (B) raced seven-wide in her last start and finished with a strong rally to get third. Before that she won a N3L claimer. (1) Marvelous Maude ran only 3 times in her career and the two most recent efforts came after a brief layoff for Chad Brown where she showed significant improvement. (4) Pop the Bubbly broke her maiden last time for Michelle Nevin after racing wide. (12) Sweet Franny Lu enters following a starter allowance victory against open company for trainer Tom Morley whose barn is finding the right spots for their horses.

Best bets:  Urban Forest (7^th); Mo Ready (8^th). Best value: Blue Atlas (4^th); Unicorn Sally (9^th).