Hot City Girl the one to beat
Hot City Girl and Weekend Express were both entered and scratched from stakes at Belmont Park last weekend. They return Thursday in separate second-level optional-claiming races.
Hot City Girl was entered in Saturday’s $150,000 Iroquois Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong race for New York-bred fillies and mares. Trainer Linda Rice withdrew Hot City Girl and instead went with La Verdad, who scored an easy win. Hot City Girl runs in race 8, for fillies and mares going 6 1/2 furlongs.
Weekend Express, trained by Timothy Hills, was scratched out of Sunday’s $100,000 English Channel, a one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds, in favor of race 4 on Thursday, which is for 3-year-olds and up going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf.
Hot City Girl and Weekend Express are each coming off a victory, and they are top contenders in their respective races. Neither lands in an easy spot, however.
Hot City Girl won the Grade 2, $350,000 Charles Town Oaks in her most recent start. The filly she beat, Temper Mint Patty, came back to finish second Saturday in the $250,000 Empire Distaff against New York-breds.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Hot City Girl. Trainer Linda Rice is 25-12-1-3 with a $3.70 ROI over the past two years in dirt sprints with last-out winners making their second start following a layoff. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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The filly standing between Hot City Girl and her fourth win is Jubilant Vision, who in her last two starts has won second- and third-level optional-claiming races at Penn National. Trained by David Jacobson, she is entered Thursday for a $62,500 claiming price.
Weekend Express won a first-level turf allowance at Monmouth Park in September. He is 3 for 11, with wins at Gulfstream Park, Belmont, and Monmouth. Weekend Express is among 12 horses entered in race 4, including three main-track-only entrants and a coupled entry. His toughest rivals might be Mutin, Adirondack Dancer, and Pleuven.
Mutin won a second-level optional claimer at Saratoga two starts back, gave third-level competition a try, and now is dropped in for a $62,500 claiming tag by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin and Shadwell Stable.
Adirondack Dancer had been a close-but-no-cigar kind of horse until he broke through with a first-level allowance win two races ago. Trained by Rice, he came back to finish fifth, beaten only a length, at this level in his most recent race Sept. 5. He comes into this spot fresh and shouldn’t be far away at the finish.
Pleuven will be making his first start since March. He won two optional-claiming races at Gulfstream Park before going to the sidelines. Trainer Chad Brown has entered him for the $62,500 claiming price.