Saratoga Hotlist - August 19

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Wednesday, August 19, 2020 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.

3^rd race – (2) Mo Normal (A) was bumped early and then was rank while under heavy restraint from the rider and finished fourth for Christophe Clement. (5) Stunning Princess set the pace in her debut at Saratoga on the grass and finished second for Danny Gargan. Experience counts in these 2-year-old races. (1) Ingrassia/(1A) Reina Del Sol make an entry of promising firsters from Don Alberto Stable, one for Chad Brown and the other for Bill Mott. (3) Tinder Date will debut for excellent turf trainer Mike Maker who ships this filly up from Florida for this spot.

6^th race – (1) Rivendell (A) was an impressive debut winner for Bill Mott on the Belmont Park grass last month and the third-place finisher came back to win her next start. She will now face winners in an allowance while stretching out from seven furlongs to a mile. (4) Joyous Times has three second-place finishes in a row in turf allowances. In all three, she had the lead in the stretch. Luis Saez returns to ride this time. (3) In Front broke her maiden last time for Shug McGaughey in her second start after a Covid-19 caused layoff of five months. (7) Kitten by the Sea was claimed out of a victory in a N2L claimer at Gulfstream Park by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable. She then ran third, beaten by only a neck, in a Saratoga allowance.

7^th race – (1) Golani Brigade (A) made his second career start for Chad Brown last summer at Saratoga after running fourth in his debut in June at Belmont Park. He broke alertly settled in fourth, took the lead in the turn, drew off to an advantage of more than five-lengths by the stretch call, and gave back a few of those lengths to a late run from a promising debut runner. (2) Blackjack Davey gets blinkers on after running second in one of these NY-bred first-level allowance races for Linda Rice. Blinkers on is a positive move for Rice who also cuts back the distance to seven furlongs. (5) Quickflash has a series of top three finishes at this level. (6) Coach Villa ran second going this distance after trainer Chris Englehart moved him back to a state-bred race after a several good efforts against open company.

8^th race – (2) Joy’s Rocket is unbeaten in two career starts including a stakes win at Woodbine on the synthetic track for Steve Asmussen. She will try the grass for the first time in this sprint. (6) Tobys Heart won her debut at Churchill Downs by more than six lengths on the turf at Churchill Downs while earning a race high speed figure for Brian Lynch. (9) Mischievous Dream won as a first-timer at Saratoga for Clement against NY-breds. (5) Sassy Hannah will make her debut in a tough spot for a low-profile owner/trainer showing a series of fast workouts.

Best bets: Golani Brigade (7^th); Joy’s Rocket (8^th). Best value: Mo Normal (3^rd); Rivendell (6^th).