Hot Peppers adds spice to Garland Of Roses

By NY Hot List Staff | Thursday, December 8, 2022

As 2022 turns into its final yards, distaff sprinters will be center stage at Aqueduct on Saturday when a field of seven will contest the $120,000 Garland Of Roses Stakes at Aqueduct. There will be a reminder of one of the better days of the year at a New York Racing Association track in one of the favorites, Hot Peppers, who was second in the Test Stakes, which was run on Whitney Day at Saratoga Race Course. After running fourth in the Prioress Stakes, the 3-year-old Hot Peppers will be trying to close out 2022 on a winning note.

Here’s the Hot List picks for the $120,000 Garland Of Roses:

Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 8:

(1) Betsy Blue was third in the Go For Wand (G3) last weekend and comes right back with six wins from 10 starts at the Big A. She finished in the top three in 10 of her last 12 races. There is a lot of speed in this race which sets up her closing style. (5) Smash Ticket won a stakes race at Pimlico two starts back and will now make her first start at Aqueduct for Rob Atras. Last time she was outrun when she tried the Raven Run (G2) at Keeneland. (2) Hot Peppers exits three graded stakes races and now faces older horses for the first time. She is fast and the pace projector says that she will be on the lead. (7) Beguine ships up to Aqueduct again after earning a career best speed figure in an allowance race following a trainer change and now the blinkers go on.

The rest of the NY Hot List picks and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.