Belmont Park Hotlist - October 31

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Saturday, October 31, 2020 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.

1^st race – (2) Brilliant Brooks returned from a year layoff to win a maiden special weight at Finger Lakes for Jeremiah Englehart and he now will face winners in this $16,000 N2L condition. His speed figure from the victory fits well. (3) Kabob was a maiden winner for $20,000 at Saratoga and then ran second at this level closing weekend upstate. (4) Shandian was shifted from a series of turf races to the dirt at Monmouth and responded with his first win which earned a race high speed figure. (1) Cause I Said So is a consistent performer with five top three finishes including his maiden score at Monmouth Park in his most recent race for Michelle Nevin.

2^nd race – (9) Kitten by the Sea finished second in a starter allowance on the turf behind a horse that came back to win her next start. This Todd Pletcher runner comes back in a similar spot. (5) Princess Fawzia has never run worse than third in five career starts. The debut maiden winner has run in four straight starter allowances. (10) Kemba has been off since running second in a starter allowance at Saratoga for Ray Handal following a maiden win for a $75,000 tag. (4) Micromillion was claimed out of a N2L victory from Pletcher by Mertkan Kantarmaci.

3^rd race – (6) The Sound set the pace in his debut at Churchill Downs and ended up second for Brad Cox who wins with 28% of his second time runners. (4) Dreams of Tomorrow tried the turf at Keeneland after a short layoff and now switches back to the main track going seven furlongs. This Phipps runners has a third and two place finishes in three races on the dirt. (1) Democratic Values for Jorge Abreu and (1A) Risk Profile who is trained by Chad Brown make a strong entry for owner Klaravich Stable. (5) Instinctive Rhythm was the favorite in all three races for George Weaver which includes two thirds at Monmouth.

9^th race – (2) Share the Ride may be the lone speed in the seven furlong Bold Ruler (G3) as he tries that distance for the first time. Manny Franco stays on board after they ran second in the Vosburgh (G2) behind Firenze Fire. Prior to that he was a stakes winner at Monmouth in a race that earned the highest speed figure for this field. (4) Arch Cat will ship to Belmont Park after an allowance win and a third at Mid-Atlantic tracks for trainer Danny Velazquez who will try to win his third stakes race at Belmont in the last two weekends. The 6-year-old is stakes placed in the past as he seeks his first stakes victory. (6) Phat Man returns from a winter layoff when he was the winner of the Fred Hooper (G3) at Gulfstream Park and was second in the GP Mile (G2), both races were one-turn. He earned big speed figures in both of those starts and will cut back in distance for this Grade 3. (5) Majestic Dunhill has raced exclusively at the seven furlong distance on dirt and turf for trainer George Weaver. The 5-year-old is a past stakes winner and is the training partner of the leading sprinter Vekoma. Always competitive, he has not found the winner’s circle in two years.

Best bets: Kitten by the Sea (2^nd); The Sound (3^rd). Best value:  Brilliant Brooks (1^st); Share the Ride (9^th).

@NYHotList Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 is on races 1-3:  2, 3, 4 with 5, 9, 10 with (1/1A), 4, 6 = $27.