Hot Seat brings limitless potential into Discovery Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Arrogate may not be the only late-blooming 3-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song to keep tabs on in 2017.

Hot Seat, another 3-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song, has won his first two starts by a combined 20 1/2 lengths ahead of his stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 3, $150,000 Discovery Stakes at Aqueduct.

Plagued by chronic quarter cracks, Hot Seat didn’t get to the races until Sept. 6, when he won a six-furlong maiden race at Parx by 13 1/2 lengths. He came back five weeks later to win a first-level allowance race by seven lengths at Parx. That race was at a mile and 70 yards.

“He looks to be the part, and he’s bred to be the part,” said Jason Servis, who trains Hot Seat for Gary and Mary West. “These people deserve a nice horse.”

Hot Seat will be one of two horses Servis will run in the Discovery, scheduled for 1 1/8 miles. Sunny Ridge, the winner of the Grade 3 Withers over Aqueduct’s inner track in January, also will run. Sunny Ridge finished third behind Exaggerator and American Freedom in the Haskell Invitational before finishing 11th of 12 in the Pennsylvania Derby.

Servis said he didn’t have a legitimate excuse for Sunny Ridge.

Others pointing to the Discovery include Adulator, who worked five furlongs in 1:01.55 on Monday at Belmont, Diversify, Gift Box, Governor Malibu, My Man Sam, Neolithic, and possibly Sticksstatelydude.