Altissimo wires Sydney Gendelman Memorial Handicap

Altissimo was sent away as the favorite despite facing two Ohio-bred champions and rewarded his backers by cruising to a wire-to-wire, 8 1/4-length victory in the $75,000 Sydney Gendelman Memorial Handicap on Saturday at Belterra Park.

Altissimo ($7), trained by Richard Zielinski, has now won three straight races, including the Edward Babst/Albert Palacios Memorial Handicap at Belterra in his prior start.

Altissimo broke from post 5 in the field of 11 under Christian Pilares and quickly assumed command of the race, leading by a length through the opening half of the 1 1/16-mile race, which was originally carded for the turf but was moved to the main track. He began to extend his margin through six furlongs and rolled from there, winning as he pleased. He stopped the clock in 1:45.29.

Rivers Run Deep, the reigning Ohio-bred champion sprinter, grabbed runner-up honors by three-quarters of a length over Let'scalliteven, the second-longest shot on the board. It was another 3 1/2 lengths to Coincidentally, with two-time reigning Ohio horse of the Year Mo Dont No another 3 1/2 back in fifth.