Saratoga Hotlist - August 6

Today’s New York Hot List races to watch – Thursday, August 6, 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.

2^nd race – (2) Keota was beaten by just a half-length in her first start for Chad Brown since moving from the barn of Jason Servis. That came in a starter allowance sprinting on the turf at Belmont Park and she returns in a similar spot with Irad staying on board. (6) Jades Gelly ran just a half-length behind the top choice after having the lead in the stretch. (4) Grudge will try and make the move from a N2L claimer to this starter allowance which usually is hard to do, but this small field is not the strongest group. (5) Wicked Amber has speed figures that fit with this group has she moves from a first-level allowance where she got pinched back at the start.

6^th race – (2) Gesture broke her maiden for trainer Jonathan Thomas at Tampa Bay Downs in a $32,000 maiden claimer in April. Today’s race is a $16,000 N2L condition which fits my rule of thumb that horses win at a claiming price that is lower than their winning maiden tag. She gets blinkers on after running second last time in an open $20,000 claimer and Thomas wins at 30% when the shades go on. (4) Wicked Title was claimed by Linda Rice after running third in a $25,000 N2L race at Belmont. (3) La Negrita ran second after a wide trip when she dropped into the N2L condition for Rudy Rodriguez. (1) Lake Chicot was a winner of a $25,000 maiden claiming last year and she finally lands in a spot where she has a chance to win.

8^th race – (6) Joltin Joe is a Kentucky-bred who gets into this New York Stallion Series turf stake because his sire stands in New York. This will be his first start against restricted company after four place finishes in a row with two coming behind two likely Kentucky Derby runners in Art Collector and King Guillermo. (1) Fresco won a similar Stallion Series race just two weeks ago at Saratoga for the red-hot Christophe Clement. (4) Turbo Drive made a big late rally to win a NY-bred allowance at the Spa for Mike Maker who is having his best Saratoga meeting ever. (3) Zipalong moves from an open starter allowance back to the state-bred ranks where he broke his maiden.

9^th race – (5) Elusive Ruler was a maiden special weight winner in May at Gulfstream Park for Ian Wilkes whose horses have all run well this summer at the Spa. This guy drops out of two allowance tries into a $40,000 N2L claimer while staying on the turf. (6) Catorat was third in his 2020 debut at this same level. He was a bit rank early and then raced wide throughout that race at Belmont. (8) King’s Honor made his first start of the year in a starter allowance at Belmont and now gets class relief. (10) Swordsman makes his 2020 debut as a new gelding while switching to the barn of Clement and also gets a bonus change to rider Joel Rosario.

Best bets:  Keota (2^nd); Gesture (6^th). Best value:  Joltin Joe (8^th); Elusive Ruler (9^th)