Belmont Stakes Full-card Hotlist - June 20

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Saturday, June 20, 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 – (9) Striking Speed made his debut for Linda Rice who wins at 8% with her first-timers. Going a mile, he was in a head to head battle on the front end with the 1-2 favorite and held on admirably to finish third in what turned out to be a very strong maiden special weight. He now changes from dirt to turf and stays at a mile. (1/1A) Conglomerate/Traffic Pattern is an entry of Chad Brown first-timers on the turf. Brown wins at a 20% clip with maiden claimers on the grass. (10) Souper Energizer ran his best career race when he dropped into the claiming ranks in March and now returns as a new gelding. (7) Holy Emperor makes the big drop from maiden special weight to claiming and gets back on the grass where he ran his best.

2^nd race – $250,000 Woody Stephens (G1) – (2) Meru (A) made his 2020 debut last month at Churchill Downs after last seen running second in the Nashua (G2). In a high a level allowance in Kentucky he got stuck in tight quarters and when he got clear rallied boldly to finish third beaten by less than a length for the win. (1) No Parole has four wins from five career starts for trainer Tom Amoss. His only loss came on a sloppy track while stretching out in the Rebel (G2). He bounced back to an easy win in an Oaklawn Park allowance. (3) Mischevious Alex was last seen in March winning the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct. Trainer John Servis opted for the sprint instead of the Kentucky Derby trail. He has won his last three starts all in stakes races. (5) Shoplifted cuts back to an ideal distance and is going to get a speedy set-up for a closing run as the likely longshot.

3^rd race – (7) Mrs. Danvers (A) came into her second career start with a Hot List “A”rating from her debut where she broke poorly. In her second start, she broke well and was rank while being restrained behind horses. Given her cue down the stretch she turned the tables on one of the horses that had beaten her in her debut. That horse was Finite who went on to win five races in a row including two Grade 2s. (6) Indian Pride won her debut at Saratoga last year and followed that with a third-place finish in the Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland. She has been off since that October race for Chad Brown. (2) Carrizo got a nice tightener in a turf allowance just two weeks ago for David Cannizzo and now goes back to the dirt and should be ready to roll. (4) Maiden Beauty makes her 2020 debut after moving to the barn of Bruce Brown from that of retired trainer Gary Contessa. He was last seen in December running second in a strong allowance at Aqueduct.

4^th race – $150,000 Pennine Ridge (G2) – (1) Decorated Invader won a mile turf stake at Gulfstream Park last time out after a poor start forced him to rally from far back in his 2020 debut. A favorable pace scenario is anticipated 3) Proven Strategies showed a lot of speed when he finished second in the English Channel at Gulfstream Park last month. The cutback to a mile distance should be beneficial as will the services of rider Jose Ortiz. (4) Mr. Kringle has consecutive seconds at Tampa for trainer John Terranova whose barn has been very hot at the current Belmont Park meeting. (2) Venezuelan Hug used strong closing moves to get two turf wins at Gulfstream Park and he now steps up to stakes company.

5^th race – (2) O’Trouble ran third in his debut at Saratoga behind a return winner and Belmont Stakes starter Tap It to Win at odds of 9-2. He’s been away since then and comes back for trainer Tony Dutrow. (7) Rare Stripe will make his second career start for Calumet Farm and trainer Jack Sisterson after running fourth in his debut in a very fast seven-furlong maiden at Gulfstream Park in March. (5) The Angry Man was also fourth in his debut which goes back to December at Aqueduct in a race where the second-place finisher came back to win his next start. His last two works were at Belmont for Dermot Magner. (1) Mutakaamil flashed talent in a couple of his starts while racing against some strong fields in five starts. Trainer Chad Brown brings him back after a February layoff.

6^th race – $150,000 Wonder Again (G3) – (2) Sweet Melania will make her 2020 debut after last being seen setting the pace and finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1). She has never finished worse than third including her last four starts which were on the turf for Todd Pletcher. (5) Selflessly makes her 2020 debut after running fifth in that same Breeders’ Cup race. She is a Grade 2 winner for Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables. (1) Speaktomeofsummer also makes her first start of the year after winning her only two turf starts including a stake at Aqueduct in November before the grass courses closed for the year. (3) Highland Glory has excellent recent form with a win and a second in turf stakes at Gulfstream Park this spring for Barclay Tagg.

7^th race – (3) Single Verse (D) had never run worse than second in her prior five races including two NY-bred stakes, thus it was no surprise that she was bet down from 9-1 to 4-1 in a state-bred stake. In the race, she did not stay close to the early pace as she usually did and did not contend. She makes her 2020 debut here in a turf sprint allowance for NY-breds. (4) Strongerthanuknow returned from a September layoff as a front-end winner of a NY-bred maiden special weight just 17 days ago. (8) My Sassy Sarah returns to the turf for her 2020 debut. She had her two best races in turf sprints and then tried a couple of very difficult spots. (5) Winifred J has a lot of early speed in a large field that is lacking in much early pace. She ran just 15 days ago after a layoff and should benefit from that effort.

8^th race – $300,000 Acorn (G1) – (4) Casual is a fast filly who won her first two starts and now stretches out another furlong. She got the identical second-best speed figures for this field in both of her races. Trainer Steve Asmussen is very good with these kind of fillies (2) Lucrezia was last seen finishing second in the Gulfstream Park Oaks behind the best horse in this division Swiss Skydiver. Before that she won two stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. (1) Gamine has a perfect record in two career starts this year for Bob Baffert. Most recently she won an allowance at Oaklawn where she set the pace, but her lead dwindled down the stretch and she hung on to win by a neck. She is going to be very heavily bet and Baffert has had two badly beaten favorites run at Belmont this meeting. I’ll take a shot to beat Gamine in the Acorn. (7) Perfect Alibi makes her 2020 debut after a terrific 2-year-old campaign where she won the Spinaway (G1) and the Alcibiades (G2) and was fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

9^th race – $250,000 Jaipur (G1) – (2) Oleksandra returned from an October layoff to run second in the Daytona (G3) last month and now ships east to Belmont where she has won both of her starts. Top turf sprint rider Joel Rosario stays on board. (3) Texas Wedge is another west coast shipper with this guy coming from the barn of Peter Miller who does his best work with turf sprinters. (6) Hidden Scroll gets one last chance after dumping his rider at the start of his turf debut. This speedy colt seems to find trouble, but when he is good, he is hard to beat. (1) Kanthaka had graded stakes wins on the dirt as a 3-year-old while sprinting and now returns as new gelding in his first start for Graham Motion after more than a year off.

10^th race – $1,000,000 Belmont Stakes (G1) – (8) Tiz the Law is the horse to beat in the first leg of Triple Crown. He’s the only Grade 1 winner in the field and one of them came at Belmont Park last year in the Champagne (G1) going a one-turn mile. He should sit in an ideal stalking position and begin to chase down the leader on the big sweeping turn. (1) Tap It to Win returns 16 days after an explosive allowance victory at Belmont Park going a mile and a sixteenth for Mark Casse. He might face some pressure on the lead but appears to be best of the pace horses (2) Sole Volante is a confirmed late runner who won the Sam F. Davis (G3) and a recent allowance race with impressive closing moves. (10) Pneumatic is likely to be pressing the early pace and after his third-place finish in the Matt Winn (G3) he proved that he could be a factor at the end of the nine-furlongs.

11^th race – (3) Largent has three goods starts this year and is now in a large field filled with horses making their 2020 debuts on the turf. His early speed should serve him well in this field of high-level allowance horses going nine-furlongs on the grass. (4) Red Right Hand had three wins in a row while racing up on the pace for Tom Morley. He’s been off since the Red Smith (G3) back in November. (6) Pillar Mountain returns from an October layoff and has back class for Todd Pletcher and Joel Rosario. (9) Digital Age won the first three races of his career including a Grade 2. Since then he faced the toughest 3-year-olds on the grass. He comes back now for Chad Brown.

12^th race – (4) Simply was well bet to win his debut for Steve Asmussen on the turf at Sam Houston. Now he returns as a new gelding, cuts back to a turf sprint, and goes against NY-breds. (2) Crack Shot showed speed and hit the board in all four of his turf sprints for Jeremiah Englehart including a NY-bred allowance like this spot. He has been off since November when he had a bad start and was never involved in the race. (8) Turbo Drive broke his maiden against NY-breds with a fast speed figure in November and then tried open company and a stake. He returns as a gelding for dangerous turf trainer Mike Maker.

Best bets: Meru (2^nd); Tiz the Law (10^th). Best value: O’Trouble (5^th); Casual (8^th).

Saturday @NYHotList Pick 3 Special
This weekend’s Saturday $1 Pick 3 Special covers races 1-3:  1, 7, 9, 10 with 2 with 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 = $20.