Saratoga Hot List - FULL CARD - July 14

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Thursday, July 14, 2021 at Saratoga – Day 1
                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 [Clm 20000, 1 1/8 mi] – (6) Bear Alley ships up from Kentucky with two wins in a row and he was claimed both times. Trainer Bill Morey wins with 30% of the horses that he just claimed. Flavien Prat gets on board. (7) Giocare makes his first start after getting claimed for $20,000 last month by the Noda Brothers who we know specialize in winning with their new horses. (9) Kershaw was a winner at this level the last time he raced for $20,000. Since then he has faced much tougher horses in allowances mostly. (8) Royal Tryst won for $35,000 two races back and drops down for Mike Maker who got off to a blazing start last year summer at Saratoga.

2^nd race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 5 ½ F] – (1) Half a Chance (A) gets the nod as the only horse with experience in this race for 2-year-olds. She had the lead but was caught by a favored Christophe Clement runner. (6) Chocolate Gelato will make her debut for Todd Pletcher and Mike Repole as a $475,000 purchase in March. She has been training at Saratoga. (4) Thirty Thou Kelvin is a daughter of Bolt d’Oro who is off to an excellent start as a first-year sire. The dam was a stakes-placed winner of $229,000. (5) Two Minute Drill will make her first start as the second foal from a mare that won $819,000 as a graded stakes winner. Her other foal was a winner.

3^rd race [Clm 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (4) High Tide (D) returns from a May layoff when he rallied wide to finish fourth after getting bet down from 7-1 to 5-1. He will drop back into the claiming ranks where the last time he was a winner. He is a past winner at the Spa. (3) Takafumi (A) was claimed last time for $25,000 by Mike Maker in race where he was third after facing trouble at two different spots. (2) Be Here won his last two starts in a second-level allowance at Delaware Park for Jonathan Thomas after a $35,000 claiming score at Belmont Park. (6) Attentive was claimed for $50,000 at Churchill Downs by Joe Sharp who typically does well at Saratoga. This guy is a frequent claim and Irad gets on board.

4^th race [Md Sp Wt 105000, 1 3/8 mi TURF] – (3) Remote ran the best race of his four starts when he had the lead in the stretch and then finished second for Clement and Rosario. (2) Timo will debut for Jonathan Thomas with great stats with long distance turf horses. (8) Good Soldier made his first turf start in his first race of 2022 and ran third at Churchill. That was clearly the best effort in his four-start career. (6) Snow’s Island has a pair of thirds in his only starts of the year with one at Gulfstream Park and then at Belmont Park.

5^th race [NY, Md 40000, 6F] – (2) Catching Cupid pressed the pace in his 2022 debut and now drops into the claiming ranks for the first time in what will be his fourth career start. (4) Tommy Gun get blinkers on as a new gelding and also makes the move to a maiden claimer. (3) Majority Partner returns from an April layoff after pressing the pace in his last start for Jeremiah Englehart. (5) Sensibleconclusion has been competitive for the win spot since racing at this level three races back.

6^th race [Alw 50000s, 5 ½ F TURF] – (9) King Moonracer rallied late missing the win by only a neck in his first start of the year. This field is loaded with early speed which should give him an ideal set-up. (1) Starrystarryknight was a winner of a $40,000 maiden claimer with a stalking move for the currently hot barn of John Kimmel. (10) Propensity is a second entry for Kimmel but this guy has been racing in starter allowances. (2) Dark Timber will return to the turf after entering for the grass a couple of times. This is one of the speed horses in the field as he ships up from Kentucky for Norm Casse.

7^th race [Wilton, 1 mi] – The Wilton Stakes marks the return of racing at Saratoga in the one-turn mile format. (1) Goddess of Fire was last seen in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) for Todd Pletcher with three second-place finishes in stakes races on the road to the Oaks. (7) Tarabi ran behind the champion Echo Zulu twice last year. She was a debut winner last year and has one race back this year. (4) Angitude made a huge improvement in her second start of the year following a poor sloppy track performance for Brad Cox. (6) Favor is also from the Pletcher barn with two wins at Gulfstream Park in the winter and then a third in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G3).

8^th race [OC 80k/N1X, 1 1/8 mi TURF] – (1) Canisy (A) won her debut in May at Belmont and then was second after getting stuck on the rail in a race that prompted a lot of talk about the jockey’s decisions. (12) Linda’s Gift (A) ran last time in the same race as the top choice where she got checked early in the race, rallied to challenge the lead, and finished third. (3) Myriskyaffair was second in the Wonder Again (G2) which was run on a yielding turf course at Belmont for the Clement. (11) Wonka broke her maiden at Gulfstream for Bill Mott and then was fourth just a length behind in the Soaring Softly (G3).

9^th race [Schuylerville (G3), 6F] – (9) Summer Promise won her first start at Churchill last month with a front-end effort for D. Wayne Lukas who has won this race six times. Breaking from the outside she should be able to get to the lead again. (6) Me and My Shadow was a debut winner as the favorite by four-lengths at Woodbine earning the top speed figure in the field. (1) Just Cindy was also a first-time winner in Kentucky as a heavy favorite with a stalking trip. Irad Ortiz gets the mount. (3) Adora was an odds-on favorite and winner of her first start for Mark Casse in a race where the third-place horse came back to win.

10^th race [Clm 35000 N2L, 5½ F TURF] – (5) Fast Corey will drop into a N2L condition for the first time after setting the pace in an allowance for Brad Cox. (6) Abuse of Power had two allowance starts after a layoff with a noteworthy improvement and now moves down to this level. (1) Magniloquent broke her maiden for a $50,000 tag and then tried an allowance where she pressed the pace for Wesley Ward. (10) Dame Time was claimed out of her maiden winner last time with a front-end effort and will make her first start for the new barn of George Weaver.