Altissimo rebounds with Best of Ohio Sprint victory
After a hiccup last fall, Altissimo returned on Saturday to the winner’s circle at the Best of Ohio fall showcase program. The gelding earned his third victory in the $100,000 Best of Ohio Sprint at Mahoning Valley, becoming the Buckeye State’s newest millionaire in the process.
Altissimo ($7.20) was eighth in the field of 11 under Erik Barbaran after the opening quarter. He advanced into fourth by upper stretch and continued to rally, driving clear in the final stages to win by two lengths over Direct Deceit. He finished the six furlongs in 1:11.19, well off his own track record of 1:08.63 established in 2017.
Altissimo, a 7-year-old Noble Causeway gelding trained by Richard Zielinski, has now won 22 of 52 career starts and has earned $1,014,204. His 11 stakes victories include the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Sprint, which propelled him to Ohio-bred championships. He had finished ninth in the 2020 edition, a rare blip in his consistency.
The Sprint was one of five $100,000 Ohio-bred stakes on the Saturday program. In the other events:
— Forewarned ($5.80) drew clear by 3 1/2 lengths to win the Best of Ohio Endurance for the third straight year. Sonny Leon was in the irons on the horse, who has spent much of this year racing in open company for trainer Uriah St. Lewis.
Mo Dont No, also a multi-time winner of this race, never threatened and was eighth.
— Facing the smallest field of the day’s stakes, Ballroom Blitz ($10.80) posted the largest margin of victory, pulling clear to a 7 1/2-length score over Sally Strong in the Best of Ohio Distaff. Gerardo Corrales was aboard for trainer Robert Gorham.
— Favored Tantrum ($7.20) gave trainer and breeder Tim Hamm and breeding and ownership partner WinStar Farm a rising star in this state, rallying from seventh to win the Best of Ohio Juvenile under Malcolm Franklin.
One race later, Candlelight Hours ($20.60), with Terry Houghton in the irons for James Jackson, overcame a bump at the start to pull off the upset in the sister race, the John W. Galbreath Memorial for 2-year-old fillies.