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, 7F] – (8) Hurricane Nelson ran twice at Saratoga this summer with a pair of seconds after setting the pace. (4) Cuando has five top three finishes on turf and dirt. Three weeks ago he was on the lead and finished second. (7) Duration will make his debut for Chad Brown and Klaravich Stables. (2) Montalcino was an expensive 2-year-old purchase that ships up from Keeneland for his debut.

6^th race [Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (11) Adventurous Spirit returns from a June layoff with four good starts in the past two years for Todd Pletcher. (9) Get It to Matthew has shown early speed and now is listed as a gelding. (4) El Alacran has also shown early speed and has some back class to rely on. (1) Guile was claimed from a third-place finish three weeks ago.

7^th race [Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (7) Endless Vow (B) was second in her debut well clear of the rest if the field despite the jockey losing his crop and now she gets blinkers on. (1) Quickick broke last in her first start and picked up several positions to finish third at 4-1. (8) Going Steady made the expected improvement for a D. Wayne Lukas second-time starter finishing second. (3) Snowyte has fast works showing in preparation for her first race as one that was mentioned as a talented 2-year-old.

12^th race [Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), 1 ¼ mi] – (1) Tapit Trice won the Blue Grass (G1) last year, was third in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Travers, and had an impressive 2024 debut winning the Monmouth Cup (G3) by more than five lengths. (7) Arthur’s Ride romped with front-end efforts in his last two starts including the Whitney (G1) which was run on a slopped and sealed track. (6) Highland Falls was second behind Tapit Trice in the Monmouth and won the Blame (G3) before that for Brad Cox. (5) Pyrennes was last seen in June running second in the Stephen Foster (G1). He won the Pimlico Special (G3) which was his fourth win in a row at the time.

Best bets: Hurricane Nelson (1^st); Adventurous Spirit (6^th). Best value: Endless Vow (7^th); Tapit Trice (12^th).