Hot City Girl back with her friends in Broadway

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Hoping to get at least one more victory on her résumé before perhaps being retired, Hot City Girl drops back in with New York-breds when she heads a field of eight entered Wednesday for Saturday’s $100,000 Broadway Stakes at Aqueduct.

At this time last year, Hot City Girl was competing against open company. Following a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 La Brea in December 2015, Hot City Girl ran in the Grade 2 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel last February, finishing sixth of seven.

Since then, Hot City Girl has raced only four times, with her lone victory coming in the Union Avenue Stakes at Saratoga in August. Her third-place finish in the Interborough Stakes here Jan. 22 was an encouraging effort, according to trainer Linda Rice.

“It definitely was; much better than her race in Maryland,” said Rice, referring to a third-place finish in the Willa on the Move on Dec. 10.

Rice wouldn’t speculate on whether Hot City Girl, a Grade 3 winner, would be retired in time to be bred this year. Hot City Girl is owned by Sheila Rosenblum, whose Eclipse champion filly and mare sprinter of 2015 La Verdad just had her first foal earlier this week – a filly by Medaglia d’Oro.

“She’s got one broodmare,” Rice said. “Sheila does like to race.”

Rice has another sprinter in the Broadway, Flatterywillgetyou, who has the potential to take the mantle from Hot City Girl and be a factor in the statebred filly and mare sprint ranks. Flatterywillgetyou reeled off four consecutive wins from January through May before finishing fifth in the Grade 3 Victory Ride Stakes in July. Following that race, she needed surgery to remove a knee chip.

Flatterywillgetyou, owned by Everything’s Cricket Racing, came off a five-month layoff to run second behind Court Dancer in an allowance prep for the Broadway on Dec. 18.

Hot City Girl, the 121-pound highweight, will break from post 6 and be ridden by Manny Franco. Flatterywillgetyou gets in at 115 and will be ridden by Cornelio Velasquez from post 4.

The others entered in the Broadway are Jet Majesty, Play Me a Memory, Roman Ceres, Court Dancer, Splendid Gold, and She’s All Ready.