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

1^st race [Alw 50000s, 1 1/8 mi] – (2) Salto de Tigre comes back in seven days after running third in a starter allowance in his first start at Aqueduct where he showed a jump in speed figures. (1) Gut Feeling is likely to go to the lead in this field that is lacking of fast early pace and that makes him dangerous after a pair of seconds at this level going the nine furlongs. (3) Norgay was a winner of a N2L claimer by three lengths going a mile with a significant increase in his speed figures. (4) Afjan fits with this bunch although he is more likely to complete the exacta or trifecta.

7^th race [Alw 82000 N1X, 7F] – (1) Kaz’s Beach came back from a year layoff to finish second in a similar allowance. This NY-bred has won both of the state-bred allowances. (6) Jake Rocks was third last time in an allowance after three wins in a row with the last two since Rob Atras claimed him for $25,000. This is another race lacking in serious speed and this guy could go to the lead. (4) Life Changer has a series of top three finishes and comes back from a layoff for a trainer that excels coming back from breaks. (2) Watasha comes back from a short layoff for Bill Mott and was a past impressive maiden winner.

8^th race [Excelsior, 1 1/8 mi] – (2) Law Professor was third in a very strong running of the Razorback (G3) in February following a victory in the Queens County at the Big A. Last year he was second in the Woodward (G1) and fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He could be on the lead in a slow-paced race. (4) Miles D was second in the Stymie at Aqueduct and looks like he may be able to put a few races together. He is a past stakes winner at Aqueduct for Chad Brown. (1) Curlin’s Wisdom has nine recent races where he finished first or second with one poor performance on a sloppy track that can be ignored. He is stakes placed against NY-breds as he makes his first appearance in a stake against open company. (6) Forewarned won a stakes race at Parx Racing last time. The 8-year-old won the Excelsior last year and the Queens County in 2021 and will ship up from Bensalem, PA, once again.

9^th race [Md 20000, 6 ½ F] – (1) Brass Monkey (B) has a third and a second in his two starts and both times ran behind a horse that came back to win their next start. Last month, he was second but did beat the rest of the field easily. (7) Bold Honor pressed the pace in his debut and finished eighth, but he has a chance to be on the lead in this field as he adds blinkers. (2) Super Coach Fred was claimed for $40,000 last time when he had the lead and finished fourth behind the top choice. Now he drops down a notch in his first start for Rob Atras. (9) Grand Again was third behind the top choice last time.

Best bets: Salto de Tigre (1^st); Law Porfessor (8^th). Best value: Kaz’s Beach (7^th); Brass Monkey (9^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 7-9 and includes the Excelsior  à 1, 2, 4, 6 with 2, 4 with 1, 2, 7 = $24.