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Seven veteran turfers to square off in the Joe Hirsch

New York Hot List | Friday, October 8, 2021


New York’s veteran turfers will get their final Breeders’ Cup prep Saturday when a field of seven will clash in the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) at Belmont Park. Most of the names in the field are familiar faces to New York players with the winners of the last three runnings of the Joe Hirsch in the field as well as a trio of horses with earnings of more than $2 million. It’s a competitive field that promises to be a lively betting affair on the Belmont Park turf course.

Here’s the Hot List picks for the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic:

The $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) at Belmont Park, Saturday, Race 7:

(3) Gufo has never run worse than third in 12 career starts and that includes seven wins and four races at Belmont Park. She is in the best form of her life with her first Grade 1 victory in the Sword Dancer at Saratoga at the end of August for Christophe Clement. (7) Japan made her first start in America in the Sword Dancer where she had to alter paths in the stretch to get clear running and finished second beaten by just a neck. The Aidan O’Brien runner won several big races in Europe including a pair of Group 1 stakes as a 3-year-old. (2) Arklow won the Joe Hirsch back in 2019 as part of his $2.9 million in career earnings. Last month, he rallied late to finish just a neck behind in the Turf Cup (G2) at Kentucky Downs. There should be an honest early pace to set things up for the closers in the field like this Brad Cox runner. Don’t be deterred by the jockey change to Jose Lezcano who is a great turf rider. (5) Cross Border is another one of the millionaires in the field. He won the Bowling Green (G2) at the Spa this summer.

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