Belmont Park Hotlist - September 26

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Sunday, September 26, 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 [Md Sp Wt, 1 mi] – (1) Shalimar Gardens (B) got bumped and steadied at the start and then had to steady again in the stretch and alter paths. She was third and second in her two starts both of which were on wet tracks. (2) Tekila tried the grass for the first time coming off a short layoff and is already a winner on the dirt but got DQ’d. (6) My Sunny Valentine will also move back to the dirt where she ran second in her first start at Saratoga for John Kimmel. (4) Violent Vixen follows the same pattern of turf to dirt with a third last time on the grass for Charlie Baker.

2^nd race [NY, Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (7) Noble Journey (B) had the saddle slip in his most recent start making him hard to handle and he got stuck in traffic on the inside. (1) Pivotal Run crossed the finish line first in a similar spot last time but got disqualified and placed third at odds of 16-1 for George Weaver. (2) Viking Zim was claimed out of a second-place finish and gets blinkers on for Wayne Potts who has been known to improve horses. (4) Arrowheart was third after a six-month layoff for trainer John Kimmel.

4^th race [NY, Bertram F. Bongrad, 7F] – (1) Shipsational (A) won at first asking and then moved to a NY-bred stakes race where he got bumped and banged around several times at the start and finished fourth. (3) Senbei is unbeaten in two starts for Christophe Clement with a victory in the state-bred Funny Cide stake at Saratoga. (4) Whittington Park broke his maiden by more than seven lengths in his second start for Brad Cox. (2) Surprise Boss is the most experienced horse in the small field with top three finishes in 4 out of 5 starts.

7^th race [Clm 40000 N2L, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (5) Made My Day (B) raced wide throughout her last start, made a premature move, and now drops from starter allowance to make her first start at the N2L level. (2) Prefect (B) got claimed out of his first try in the N2L condition by Danny Gargan. (7) Agent Creed will make his first start at this level dropping out of an open company allowance last time. (3) Count Down returns to this level after stepping up to a starter allowance in his second start off the claim by Rudy Rodriguez.

Best bets:  Shalimar Gardens (1^st); Shipsational (4^th). Best value: Noble Journey (2^nd); Made My Day (7^th).