Saratoga Hotlist - August 18

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Thursday, August 18, 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 worse
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race [NY, Md 25000, 1 mi] – (3) Uncle Water Flow (B) showed a significant improvement with the switch back to the main track when he was taken up in the early going and then rallied for third. (6) Olympic Dreams was 3-1 in his debut in a maiden special weight and now makes this drop to the lowest claiming level as the blinkers go on. (2) Lucky Mucho Man was third in his last two starts at this level. (1) Sensibleconclusion will make the final drop from $40,000 to this maiden claiming spot.

4^th race [Hcp 25000s, 6F] – (2) Mexican Wonder Boy was claimed for $62,500 last start when he set the pace and eventually finished second. He is projected to be on the lead again. (4) Stage Left finished in the top three in his last six races with an allowance win most recently at Saratoga. (1) Alcools was claimed for $25,000 when second in his Saratoga start which came after a pair of victories in claimers. (5) Flamingo Hawk got a career high speed figure when he won a $25,000 claimer at the Spa by open lengths. Irad Ortiz stays on board even though he was claimed.

9^th race [NY, New York Stallion Series, 1 mi TURF] – (6) Busy Morning (A) was a runaway winner of his second start when he broke from the far outside in a full field. (4) Dream Central won his last two starts in NY-bred stakes by narrow margins in a Stallion Series race at Belmont and then the Suzie O’Cain at the Spa. (3) Royal Dancer is still a maiden despite being stakes-placed at Belmont in June. (7) Tara Dancer was third in her debut last time for Horacio DePaz.

10^th race [NY, Md 40000, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (3) Pheobe’s Frosty (C) was bet down from 5-1 to 5-2 in her first start following a layoff that was meant for the turf and finished second. (1) Uragano was competitive in maiden special weights and now drops into a claimer for the first time. (5) Rush to Honor will move back to race for a tag where she was most effective. (8) Loz will drop in for a tag for the first time.

Best bets:  Mexican Wonder Boy (4^th); Busy Morning (9^th). Best value: Uncle Water Flow (1^st); Pheobe’s Frosty (10^th).