Best of Ohio series comes to Thistledown

Defending race winners I Recall, I Wanna Win, and Dougie D Oro highlight the fields in stakes for older horses on the Best of Ohio statebred showcase card Saturday at Thistledown, with five stakes worth a combined $500,000.

The Best of Ohio has evolved into a series of showcases throughout the year at all three of the state’s Thoroughbred tracks to promote the Ohio racing and breeding programs. The series kicked off with stakes at Belterra Park in early June, followed by this summer program at Thistledown. The annual fall showcase program of five season-capping stakes will be held at Mahoning Valley.

In the cases of I Recall, who runs in the $100,000 Best of Ohio Pay the Man Stakes for fillies and mares for John Bourke, and I Wanna Win, looking to repeat in the $100,000 Best of Ohio Governor’s Buckeye Cup for James Jackson, an affinity for the distances of their respective two-turn races may be their greatest asset, as many of their foes have limited experience going a route.

I Recall is a perfect 2 for 2 at the nine furlongs of the Pay the Man, including a win in last year’s edition. She also won the Best of Ohio Distaff on the fall showcase program over Market Success, who she faces again here. I Recall is in fine form this summer, as she is coming off a win in the Vivacious Stakes on July 22 going 1 1/16 miles at Belterra. The mare now looks like the controlling speed in the Pay the Man under Angel Stanley.

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The Buckeye Cup, which is part of the series leading to the Best of Ohio Endurance, is run at 1 1/4 miles. I Wanna Win is 6-2-1-1 at the distance, including wins in last year’s Buckeye Cup and Endurance. Both victories came over millionaire and three-time Endurance winner Forewarned, who he faces again here, as Forewarned returns to the state of his birth after another foray into graded stakes company.

I Wanna Win is drawn on the rail under Malcolm Franklin and may have to work through some traffic in what could be a tightly bunched field of nine, with several having similar running styles.

The $100,000 Best of Ohio Honey Jay Stakes for sprinters is another showdown between the streaking Dougie D Oro and the millionaire Altissimo. Dougie D Oro won the 2021 and 2022 editions of the Honey Jay for Jerry Sparks, and was second in last fall’s Best of Ohio Sprint. He comes into his defense of the Honey Jay off three straight wins, most recently the Best of Ohio Babst/Palacios Memorial to open this series.

Multi-time Ohio-bred horse of the year Altissimo has one win from three allowance starts this year, but has 12 stakes wins in his career. Those include the 2018 Honey Jay and Best of Ohio Sprint, the 2019 Sprint, and the 2021 Sprint.

The Best of Ohio card is rounded out by a pair of stakes for juveniles, the $100,000 Cleveland Kindergarten and its sister race, the $100,000 Miss Ohio. Both are headed by 2-year-olds who already have stakes experience in their nascent careers.

Spellcast comes into the Kindergarten unbeaten in two starts for the partnership of WinStar Farm and trainer Tim Hamm, including a victory in the Hoover Stakes. Shadowy was third in the Hoover for Hamm as a sole owner. The colt is still a maiden, but has not missed the board in three starts.

City Scene enters the Miss Ohio off a nine-length maiden score followed by a 16-length win in the Tah Dah Stakes for Jackson.

Brief Encounter and Gold Honey, second and third, respectively, in the Tah Dah, try City Scene again on Saturday.

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