Belmont Park Hotlist - October 8

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Friday, October 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 worse
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F TURF] – (2) She’s the One (A) had the lead in her May debut at Belmont Park and got caught at the wire while finishing well ahead of the rest of the field. She returns for her second start for Christophe Clement. (4) U Should B Dancing has a trio of second and thirds in turf sprints and will be right there at the finish of this one also. Ignore that race on the dirt last time. (7) Road to Remember had the lead and finished third in her first try on the turf most recently at Saratoga. [The (1) Cali Fitz and (1A) Acushla entry] were well bet in their races for Jorge Abreu and are worth a chance here at what should be better odds.

2^nd race [Clm 10000,6 ½ F] – (1) Winning Drive will drop back down to this lowest claiming level at Belmont where he won twice at Aqueduct. (4) The Great Dansky was moved up to second by disqualification in his last start and now drops down a notch (8) Shamrocked returns from a May layoff after having been claimed in four consecutive races for the $10,000 price. (2) Flowers for Lisa drops down and moves back to the barn of Bruce Levine who had this horse on three separate occasions this year. Levine will drop him down in claiming price.

8^th race [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 1 mi] – (5) Big Castle got blinkers on and moved from turf to dirt and was a maiden winner in his fourth career start while making a significant jump in speed figures. Hot rider Dylan Davis stays on board.  (1) Emperor’s Cause ships up from Gulfstream Park to make his first start against NY-breds. In Florida, he won a maiden special weight and then ran in two Handicap races. (2) Clever Fellow got claimed for $40,000 by Horatio DePaz last time and the horse was the favorite in his last six starts. (4) Great Workout was an odds-on debut winner for Todd Pletcher in April at Aqueduct. In his last race he clipped heels at the start when he returned to the main track.

9^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (3) Enjoy Summer (D) took late money in her debut against what turned out to be a strong field. She came up empty, but trainer John Terranova does good work with young horses. Improvement could come at big odds. (1) Tara Dancer will make her first career start for Jonathan Thomas who has excellent stats in all relevant categories. The dam was stakes placed as a 2-year-old. (6) Classic Lynne gets blinkers on and moves back to the grass for Joe Sharp. Last time, she ran into the speedy and unbeaten Pletcher runner, Classy Edition. (5) Russiarussiarussia will debut for Chad Brown. Both of the dam’s previous starters were winners.

Best bets:  She’s the One (1^st); Winning Drive (2^nd). Best value:  Big Castle (8^th); Enjoy Summer (9^th).