Saratoga Hotlist - September 2

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Friday, September 2, 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.

2^nd race [OC 62k/N2X, 5 ½ F TURF] – (7) Bay Jewel (A) returned to the turf for the first time this year and rallied from the last into a slow pace to finish second. (1) Let’s Be Clear (A) got stuck on the inside on a day when the rail was bad and got claimed for $50,000 for the second race in a row. He’ll move to the turf for the first time. (2) Hit the Woah returned from a six-month layoff to run third in a similar spot for the Clement barn. (6) Ellanation has a series of strong turf sprints at Laurel for Michael Trombetta including a thrilling second in a stakes.

6^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 6F] – (10) Security Code (C) was second in his debut behind a horse that is now a stakes winner. Bet down from 8-1 to 5-1 he is a half-sister to the hard-knocking Blewitt. (5) Banterra (C) was second in her first start for Steve Asmussen after getting bet down to be the favorite from the far outside post. (2) Stonewall Star is a home-bred making his first start for Horacio DePaz. She is out of a mare that was a stakes winner that produced three winners from three to start including a stakes winner at two. (3) Spinning Colors was third behind the top choice in her first start and was far ahead of the rest of the field.

8^th race [Lucky Coin, 5 ½ F TURF] – (1) Big Package has a great record at Saratoga in turf sprints and the last two were seconds in third-level allowances for David Donk. (4) Dancing Back won his last two starts for Michelle Nevin both against open company. (5) Thin White Duke was third in the Troy (G3) beaten just a neck after a late rally for Donk. (6) Voodoo Zip won a top-level allowance for Clement and then shipped to Woodbine to try a stakes race.

10^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 1 mi TURF] – (6) Conquist was second at Saratoga last time in a race where he was disqualified after setting the pace. He is projected to be on the front-end in this spot also. (2) Excursionniste ran well in the same race as the top choice. (4) Media Sensation just missed two races back against open company and then ran in a race that came off the turf. He’s back against NY-breds and should be a generous price. (8) Curlin’s Wisdom moved back to the turf for the first time this year for Linda Rice and has some early speed.

Best bets:  Security Code (6^th); Conquist (10^th). Best value: Bay Jewel (2^nd); Big Package (8^th).