Chief Randel steps out of statebred ranks for Steel Valley Sprint

Four years ago, Mo Dont No leapt from a win on the Best of Ohio state showcase program into open company, winning the Steel Valley Sprint via disqualification. Since then, he has twice been honored as Ohio’s horse of the year, and is a millionaire.

Chief Randel has a long way to go before he can be considered alongside Mo Dont No and Ohio’s other greats. But the colt did defeat the champion last time out in the Best of Ohio Sprint, and now looks to build on his résumé in the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint on Monday at Mahoning Valley. Chief Randel is the only Ohio-bred in the field for one of the Buckeye State’s biggest events, which has drawn a full field of 14 3-year-olds from various jurisdictions.

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Monday’s nine-race card, with a first post of 12:45 p.m. Eastern, marks the first live racing day at Mahoning Valley since Nov. 9. The Austintown, Ohio, track paused its meet for several weeks after a track employee tested positive for COVID-19, which is surging around the country.

Chief Randel, trained by Jose Romero, rallied from fifth at the quarter pole and then held off Mo Dont No by a length to spring the $41 upset in the Best of Ohio Sprint on Oct. 31 at Mahoning Valley. Earlier this season, he won the Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup at Thistledown, and has raced well outside of his home state, finishing second in the Robert G. Leavitt Stakes and third in West Virginia Lottery Breeders’ Classic, both at Charles Town.

Chief Randel drew post 9 under Fernando Salazar Becerra, who rode him to the win on the Best of Ohio program.

Just inside Chief Randel is Fore Left, who gets a good deal of class relief. Fore Left has made his last 12 starts, dating back to June 2019, in stakes company, not just around the country but around the world. He won the Tremont Stakes at Belmont and the Sunny Slope at Santa Anita in 2019 as a juvenile, and earlier this year won the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas at Meydan. Fore Left most recently finished fifth in the Perryville Stakes on Nov. 7 at Keeneland, as Nashville ran the field off its feet.

Fore Left is trained by Doug O’Neill in California and will be ridden by Luis Rivera.

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Also in from California is Vertical Threat, who won the Smiling Tiger over the summer at Del Mar for trainer Richard Baltas. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 92, making him one of just two horses in this field to top the 90 threshold. Most recently, he set the pace in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs before fading to sixth, beaten four lengths. The colt appears to be honed to use his speed, having posted sharp works in California. He is also well drawn to use that speed to control the race, landing the rail under Heriberto Figueroa.

Flatter Me Please has won consecutive Ohio allowance races, at Thistledown and Mahoning Valley. In that most recent outing, he defeated fellow Steel Valley Sprint entrants Nano, who was third, and Sacred Warrior, who was fourth.

Williston Way won an allowance race in October at Keeneland, and most recently finished second in an allowance/optional-claiming race at Churchill Downs. Night Time ships north for Dale Romans having finished second in a similar allowance/optional-claiming race at Churchill. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 93, the top career number in this field.

Completing the field are Relentless Dancer, seventh in the Perryville; Dark Oak, coming off an allowance win at Mahoning Valley; and Golden Candy, Jamaican Magic, Shashashakemeup, and Try Try Again.