Belmont Park
Hot City Girl not far from return
Shigeki Kikkawa Hot City Girl will get a rest with a possible comeback at Saratoga.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Hot City Girl, the graded-stakes-winning New York-bred female sprinter, is getting closer to a return to the races. On Sunday, she breezed five furlongs under Jose Ortiz in 1:00.10, just her second breeze back after getting some time off during the winter and spring.
“Jose worked her a little faster than I wanted this morning, but she’s doing very well,” trainer Linda Rice said. “She’s not too far away.”
Rice is targeting the Grade 2, $200,000 Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga on July 27 for Hot City Girl, if she can hold her on the ground that long.
Hot City Girl, the winner of the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks last September, has not raced since finishing sixth in the Barbara Fritchie at Laurel in February.