Belmont Stakes FULLCARD Hotlist - June 11

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Saturday, June 11, 2021 at Belmont Park
By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt8

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 worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1^st race – [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 6F] - (7) Win for Gold (C) took a lot of late money as a longshot and dropped from 23-1 to 15-1. He finished second in an allowance behind an impressive winner from the Chad Brown barn after a debut victory. (8) Unique Unions was second in NY Stallion Series stakes race with a stalking trip that work well in this field that is loaded with speed. (4) Safalow’s Mission moved from turf to dirt and got his maiden victory after closing from third. (6) Tap’n de Bank got his first career win following a September layoff in his second start for Brad Cox.

2^nd race – [Alw 92000 N1X, 1 mi] - (6) Three Jokers won his way through his NY-bred conditions, finished second in a pair of state-bred stakes, and then moved to open company where he recently missed the win by a half-length. (1A) Bright Future drew off to win his debut at Gulfstream Park going a one-turn mile for Todd Pletcher at odds of 4-1. (4) Strong Quality spent the winter at Fair Grounds for Mark Casse where he broke his maiden in his second try and then was second in his first try in allowance company. (3) Set Sail shipped to New York for the Peter Pan (G3) but did not seem to like the wet track. He is now in the barn of Bill Mott who brings him right back in a much softer spot.

3^rd race – [Acorn (G1), 1 mi] – (5) Echo Zulu tasted defeat for the first time in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) when she did not get to lead in the early going and finished fourth. Now she cuts back to a one-turn mile which may be her ideal race. Last year, she won the Frizette (G1) at Belmont which was run at the same distance. (4) Matareya won her last three starts for Brad Cox which came in 2022 and included the recent Eight Belles (G1) at Churchill Downs. (3) Divine Huntress had two big wins at Parx when she broke her maiden and then won an allowance. She moved to the barn of Graham Motion and has been racing in graded stakes. (2) Inventing was second in her first two starts for the Pletcher barn and Irad Ortiz stays on board.

4^th race – [Just A Game (G1), 1 mi TURF] – (3) Speak of the Devil won her American debut for Chad Brown in the Distaff Turf Mile (G2) at Churchill after racing in France. (2) Regal Glory has three wins in a row for Brown with a pair of Grade 1s and a Grade 3 at three different tracks on both coasts. She has 11 wins from 18 career starts. (4) In Italian is the speedy winner of 3 out of 5 career starts also for the Brown barn. She was second last time behind the top choice. (5) Wakanaka was a Group 3 winner in Italy last year before moving to the barn of Bill Mott. In her three American starts she ran behind each of the top three in this field.

5^th race – [Brooklyn (G2), 1 ½ mi] – (1) Lone Rock won this race last year and then went on to win 5 out of his next 7 starts. (7) Fearless will get extra distance after facing graded stakes company and top horses like Speaker’s Corner. (5) First Constitution won the Flat Out on the front-end at Belmont last time for Pletcher. (3) Warrant missed the win in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) by a head in March and then was fourth in the Ben Ali (G3) at Churchill behind Dynamic One who came back to win the Blame in his next start.

6^th race – [Woody Stephens (G1), 7F] – (1) Jack Christopher puts his unbeaten record on the line after two victories last year as a 2-year-old, including the Champagne (G1) at Belmont. He returned to the races to win the Pat Day Mile (G2) at Churchill on Kentucky Derby day. Chad Brown decided to keep him racing around one-turn. (3) Wit was last seen winning the Bay Shore (G3) at Aqueduct in April for Todd Pletcher. He won the first two starts of his career as a juvenile including his debut at Belmont. (4) Morello was unbeaten in three starts when he tried two turns in the Wood Memorial (G2). He cuts back to one-turn where he won each time. Joel Rosario gets on board for the first time. (2) Pappacap won the first two starts of his career last year and has since raced only in graded stakes for Mark Casse. Recently, he set the pace and finished second behind the top choice in the Pat Day Mile.

7^th race – [Ogden Phipps (G1), 1 1/16 mi] – (1) Letruska gets the nod in this battle of champions. She won this race last year and both of her starts this year. It seems like she will be able to control this race on the front end which is what she does best. (3) Malathaat is the winner of 7 of 9 career starts and is the champion 3-year-old from 2021. She was an impressive winner of her 2022 debut and did finish ahead of Letruska in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November. (4) Clairiere was a grade 1 winner last year as a 3-year-old and has career earnings of $1.5 million. She did run second in the Apple Blossom behind Letruska in April. (2) Bonny South has several place finishes behind the top two choices in this race.

8^th race – [Jaipur (G1), 6f TURF] - (4) Casa Creed returns to the races after a trip to the Middle East where he missed the win in the Turf Sprint Cup (G2) by a neck. Last year he won the Jaipur by two lengths. (5) Arrest Me Red won the recent Turf Sprint (G2) at Churchill for Wesley Ward. He won 4 out of his last 5 starts. (12) Gear Jockey gets some class relief after racing against Golden Pal a couple of times. (8) Scuttlebuzz is the winner of his last three starts in New York including the Elusive Quality at Belmont and six furlongs is his best sprinting distance.

9^th race – [Met Mile (G1), 1 mi] – (1) Flightline will make his first start outside of California and his first start since Dec. 26 when he won the Malibu (G1) by more than 11 lengths. We will find out just how good this unbeaten 4 -year-old is when he goes a mile for the first time. (2) Speaker’s Corner will challenge Flightline as he has been brilliant this year with three wins in a row with impressive speed figures. He is 2 for 2 at Belmont and 2 for 2 going a one-turn mile. (3) Aloha West won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last year with a big closing move. He was second to Jackie’s Warrior in his 2022 debut. If the top two go too fast, then Aloha West will have the right set-up. (4) Happy Saver won the first five races of his career and since then hit the board in graded stakes. He, too, could benefit from the fast pace.

10^th race – [Manhattan (G1), 1 ¼ TURF] – (2) Gufo won his first race of the year in the Pan American (G2) at Gulfstream and then got caught seven-wide when second in the Man o’War (G1) at Belmont. (9) Santin won the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill last month and Tyler Gaffalione will be in New York to ride again. (6) Rock Emperor has plenty of back races that are good enough to win here or to get in the exotics for a higher price than usual for Chad Brown. (8) Highland Chief won the Man o’War in his second start in America for Graham Motion. In Europe he raced against the top horses in the Group 1 races.

11^th race – [Belmont Stakes (G1), 1 ½ mi] – (6) Mo Donegal won the Wood Memorial (G2) defeating the eventual Preakness winner Early Voting. Then, he was fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1). Trainer Todd Pletcher looks for his fourth win in the Belmont showing that he knows how to prepare horses for the 12-furlong test. Mo Donegal is likely to be closer to the pace than he was in the Derby. (4) Rich Strike rallied from 17 lengths behind to win the Derby at odds of 80-1 aided by a fast pace and the fact that the favorites had made earlier moves. Getting that far behind in the Belmont will not work, but he has looked spectacular training in New York. (1) We the People has a distinct pace advantage as the only front runner in the field. Since 2000, only three horses won the Belmont while on the lead the entire race and two of them were Triple Crown winners. (8) Barber Road may be able to sneak into the exotics as he did in 5 out of his last 6 starts. The only exception was his respectable sixth in the Derby.

12^th race – [Md 75000, 1 mi TURF] - (8) Al’s Rocket has three good turf starts in maiden special weight company and now drops into a claimer for the first time. (12) North Carolina was claimed for $40,000 by Linda Rice with past good races on the grass where he showed plenty of speed. (7) Floki’s Flight joined the barn of Rudy Rodriguez after being claimed for $40,000 after a pair of seconds. Blinkers go on. (6) Drakon will make his first start of the year as new gelding with first-time Lasix for a new trainer showing a turf workout at Laurel Park.

13^th race – [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 6F TURF] – (11) Lady of Thoroton (B) was bumped, squeezed, and steadied at the start of a starter allowance ending up in last early on. She then rallied to get fourth and now returns to face NY-breds after three starts against open company. (5) No Payne bested a few other horses in this field last time when she came back from a winter break. (12) Palace Gossip pressed the pace in a similar spot last time to finish third and now gets a rider change to Flavien Prat. (6) Fontanafredda returned from the winter off to run fourth for the Bond barn so improvement is expected.

 Pick 3 Special
This weekend’s Saturday $1 Pick 3 Special covers races 6 to 8 à 1 with 1, 3 with 4, 5, 8, 12 = $8.