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Nine New York-bred fillies line up for the Franklin Square at Aqueduct

By NY Hot List staff | Thursday, January 13, 2022

Nine New York-bred fillies will go the gate at the Big A on Saturday for the $100,000 Franklin Square. Shesawildjoker is likely to be the favorite in this 6½ furlong sprint based on her five-race record that includes a stakes victory last year for trainer David Donk.

Last time out, the daughter of Practical Joke finished third in the Key Cents at Aqueduct in November following a stakes victory at Finger Lakes. Donk knows that this is a competitive group of state-breds.

“She gave a good account of herself last time and I think she does the same here,” trainer David Donk said. “It’s probably a pretty wide-open affair, but it’s a good spot for us.”

There are several recent maiden winners that cannot be ignored and trainer Ray Handal has Thinking It Over, a daughter of Overanalyze.

“She’s been very professional,” Handal said. “She trains like a good thing. She’s speedy, she’s quick from the gate. The race has come up wicked tough, but she’s as good as anything else going in there.”

Here are the Hot List picks for the Franklin Square:

The $100,000 Franklin Square, Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 8.

(5) Moam was a debut winner at Saratoga for Horatio DePaz. This rare NY-bred by Twirling Candy could be a good one given the five months to mature since her impressive beginning. The home-bred for Barry Schwartz rallied smartly to win by almost two-lengths.  (6) Leeloo broke her maiden by almost eight-lengths in her second start on a sloppy track at Aqueduct last month. She was a $150,000 yearling purchase as a daughter of the impressive young sire Practical Joke. The second-place finisher in that race came back to win her next start by open lengths. (2) Shesawildjoker is the horse to beat based on her five-race record that includes a victory and a pair of thirds in NY-bred stakes races as a 2-year-old. She was a debut winner in June at Belmont Park for David Donk. (9) Thinking It Over won at first asking for trainer Ray Handal on a muddy track in November at the Big A in a race that was meant for the turf. Bet down to be the 2.05-1 favorite, she stalked the pace to beat a field of 11.

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