Saratoga FULLCARD Hotlist - September 3

NY Hot List  – Jockey Club GC FULL CARD PICKS – Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022 at Saratoga
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 [Md Sp Wt 105000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (8) General Jim was third in his debut on the dirt for Shug McGaughey. The $850,000 yearling purchase shows two recent turf works at Saratoga as he stretches out and changes surfaces. (3) Ari Gold will make his debut for Todd Pletcher and Eclipse Thoroughbreds. (4) Please Baby moved from dirt to turf, added blinkers, and finished third after getting bumped around a bit. (2) Fly Right will make his first start for trainer Leah Gyarmati who has some gaudy numbers with her debut runners and 2-year-olds in general.

2^nd race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 7F] – (7) Powerful (B) was sent off as the favorite in his first start for Steve Asmussen at Saratoga when he ran a stalking trip and missed by just a head. (8) Upgrade got off a step slowly in his debut for Todd Pletcher at odds of 5-1 and finished third. (1) Full Moon Madness was third in the kickoff to his career for a home-bred son of Into Mischief from Jay Em Ess Stable and Michelle Nevin. (2) Tapit’s Conquest comes from the Brad Cox barn who was waiting for the track at Saratoga to get a bit tighter to start his best 2-year-olds and now this son of Tapit gets to go seven furlongs.

3^rd race [Alw 115000 N1X, 1 mi] – (4) Tiwanaku set the pace and was third behind Keepmeinmind who was making his first start for Todd Pletcher. Before that, Tiwanaku won a starter allowance and a maiden claimer at Churchill Downs where he was taken by Tom Amoss for $50,000. He has been facing strong fields in Kentucky and New York. (3) Seal Beach tried the turf and did not like it after breaking his maiden going seven furlongs at Churchill for Mike Maker. (6) Up to the Mark was an easy winner in his debut on a sloppy track at Saratoga for Pletcher as the odds-on favorite coming from the ownership team of Repole and St. Elias Stables. (5) Strong Quality returns from a March layoff when he started his career at Fair Grounds for Mark Casse with three races including a maiden in his second start and then an allowance second.

4^th race [Saranac (G3), 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (3) Annapolis has three wins and a pair of seconds in five career starts for Pletcher. He won the Pligrim (G2) last year and the Manila this year at Belmont Park. He broke his maiden at the Spa as a juvenile and was second behind the outstanding European runner Nations Pride in the Saratoga Derby (G1). (5) Fuerteventura is a turf horse and gets back on the grass where he broke his maiden and won the Jersey Derby. (1) Celestial City gets blinkers on after running third in the Hall of Fame (G2) for Shug McGaughey. (2) Piqua ships in from Fair Hills for Graham Motion after a late rally to finish third, beaten just a length, just three weeks ago at Saratoga.

5^th race [Alw 50000s, 5 ½ F TURF] – (7) Custom Bobby’s returned to the turf for his last two starts and has faced tougher company than many others in this field. He exits a fourth in an allowance at Monmouth Park to try a starter allowance for the first time. (11) Mister Chairman won NY-bred maiden special weight at Saratoga in the second start of his career for Clement and the Generazio Family who have produced so many excellent turf sprinters. (10) Sugar Gray Leonard was claimed for $50,000 by Leah Gyarmati who has had success with first-time runners. (8) Montatham crossed the finish line first last time in a starter allowance but was then disqualified for an incident in the final turn. Dylan Davis gets to stay on board.

6^th race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 7F] – (2) Mindtap will make her debut for Pletcher. She was a $725,000 yearling purchase by Tapit out of a mare that was graded stakes placed and produced Curalina who earned $1.5 million on the track. (7) Desert Wolf is a stablemate of the top choice and his dam was a $200,000 earner as stakes winner. (6) Prairie Dunes is the first foal from a graded-stakes placed mare that earned $311,000 on the track. This son of Curlin will make his first start for Bill Mott. (4) Mo’s Treasure has started six times for D. Wayne Lukas whose 2-year-olds have been winning at Saratoga. He will move back to the main track after two tries on the grass.

7^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 6F] – (5) Elite Power won his last two starts in a maiden and then an allowance with late rallies and shows up in this spot that appears to have lots of early speed. (1) Greeley and Ben / (1A) Amundson both have speed and run in this spot for a tag. (2) Higher Standard improved in two starts since a layoff with increased speed figures and competitive allowance finishes. (6) Payne will drop back in for a tag with back races that fit very well in here.

8^th race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 7F] – (10) Crupi (A) made a big late run in his first start for Todd Pletcher and finished third behind a star from the Steve Asmussen barn, Disarm. (3) Arthur’s Ride set the pace and finished second in his first start for Bill Mott ahead of the Hot List horse in the aforementioned race. (8) Juan Valdez was a $900,000 purchase this year. The half-brother of Constitution will make his first start for Shug McGaughey. (4) Dubyuhnell is by Good Magic out of the Breeders’ Cup winning mare Wild Gams who won $1.2 million racing. She has produced seven winners.

9^th race [OC 62k/N2X, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (5) Graded On a Curve (A) got shuffled back in the final turn and then steadied in traffic in his second start of the year for Chad Brown. (2) Analyze It was third in the Cliffhanger at Monmouth in his only start of the year. The graded stakes winner for Brown will run for a tag for the first time with earnings just shy of $1 million for the 7-year-old. (10) Eyes On Target has top three finishes since he was claimed for $50,000 by Mike Maker and that includes a pair of wins. (9) Ocean Atlantique has two starts this year with a second most recently at Saratoga after setting the pace in a similar spot.

10^th race [Flower Bowl (G1), 1 3/8 mi TURF] – (4) War Like Goddess won both of her races this year convincingly in the Bewitch (G3) at Keeneland and then the Glens Falls (G2) at Saratoga. That makes seven wins from her last eight starts with a third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf. (3) Virginia Joy prefers a turf course with some give to it which has been the case at Saratoga recently. Earlier in the year she won a pair of graded stakes on grass that was not firm. (6) Temple City Terror was second behind the top choice last time with lots of top 3 finishes in her record. (7) Marvelous Maude moved through her NY-bred allowance conditions and then won against open company for Chad Brown.

11^th race [Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), 1 1/4 mi] – (8) Dynamic One is finally reaching his full potential after flashing so much talent early in his career when he missed winning the Wood Memorial (G2) by a head. This year he won the Blame at Churchill Downs and then the Suburban (G2) going the ten furlongs after battling down the stretch. (6) First Captain is another one who is finally getting to his best form. He began his career with three wins last year. He won the Pimlico Special (G3) and then rallied late in the Suburban but came up second. He lost twice to Dynamic One. (2) Olympiad dominated the division with 5 wins in a row in the late winter and early spring. There were four graded stakes wins but the streak ended when he was fourth in the Whitney (G1). In his other Grade 1 race he was also fourth in the Cigar Mile. (7) Keepmeinmind moved to the barn of Todd Pletcher after racing exclusively in graded stakes on the Derby trail, in the Derby, the Preakness, and the Travers. He ran well in all of those big races. In his 2022 debut he had an impressive allowance victory at Saratoga at the beginning of the meeting.

12^th race [Clm 25000, 1 mi] – (10) Midnight Worker will move back to the main track where he was a debut winner at Saratoga last year. He was third after that in the Sapling at Monmouth Park. He was rank in his first start of the year on the turf and now drops into a claimer and a N2L condition for the first time. This Repole runner was purchased for only $60,000, a win and a claim may be likely for him. (4) Notable Exception will drop to his lowest claiming level after good efforts against N2L horses. (6) Patient Capital won his first start for Chad Brown at Aqueduct and will also move to the claiming ranks for the first time. (8) One More Baby dropped down and broke his maiden by almost 11 lengths and was claimed for $20,000 by a trainer who does well with new horses.

13^th race [NY, Md 40000, 5 ½ F TURF] – (11) Quick Power Nap will drop into the maiden claiming ranks for the first time for Christophe Clement after a pair of thirds in maiden special weights. (8) Izeamalibumoon was second last time when she dropped down to the claiming level and got claimed after having the lead and getting passed by nose. Irad stays on board. (9) Eli Dancer made her turf debut, had the lead, then finished second in a similar spot at Saratoga as the favorite. (5) My Cara Mia Mine has a pair of fourths in maiden special weights at the Spa and will now try running for a tag for the first time.

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 on races 11 – 13 begins with the JCGC (G1) à 6, 8 with 10 with 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11 = $12.