Gorham picks Best of Ohio Sprint for Justalittlesmoke

Trainer Bob Gorham had a tough call to make with his star 4-year-old filly Justalittlesmoke, a leading contender for Ohio-bred Horse of the Year. Gorham cross-entered Justalittlesmoke in two events in Saturday’s Best of Ohio series at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Thursday afternoon, when early scratches were announced, Gorham decided Justalittlesmoke’s chances were better in the six-furlong Sprint than the 1 1/8-mile Distaff.

Each of the Best of Ohio stakes on the eight-race program is worth $150,000. The series of stakes begins with the Sprint in race 4 at 1:43 p.m. Eastern.

Four of Justalittlesmoke’s five 2016 victories, including her last three starts, which she has won by a combined 18 lengths, have come going six furlongs. Although the Sprint distance seems ideal, Justalittlesmoke will have to face nine males, including the 5-year-old Rivers Run Deep. Based at Churchill Downs with trainer Chris Hartman, Rivers Run Deep has won the last two runnings of the Best of Ohio Sprint and is 9 for 10 against statebred sprinters since August 2014. He's listed as the 4-5 favorite on the track's morning line. Justalittlesmoke is the 7-2 second choice.

Candy Bites, runner-up in last year's Sprint and 3 for 6 this season, is 6-1, the only other horse in Saturday's field lower than 10-1 on the program line.

Justalittlesmoke's defection from the Distaff makes the clear-cut favorite 3-year-old statebred sensation School Board Prez, who is unbeaten in six stakes starts against Ohio-breds, including the 1 1/8-mile Queen City Oaks the last time she raced on dirt in July. The 12-horse Distaff lineup also includes the 5-year-old Needmore Flattery, a two-time Ohio-bred Horse of the Year and the winner of last year’s Distaff, and the 4-year-old Bold Cait, whose three stakes victories include the 1 1/8-mile Pay the Man in her most recent start Aug. 27.

In the three other stakes:

◗ The 3-year-old Mo Dont No (4-5), who has gone 6 for 8 since mid-May, including a 3 1/4-length score in the 1 1/4-mile Governor’s Buckeye Cup, is among 14 horses signed on for the 1 1/4-mile Endurance. His rivals include Eightthehardway (10-1), the runner-up in the Buckeye Cup and a 6 1/4-length winner of the 1 1/16-mile Catlaunch last time out; the 3-year-old Bucket Beat (8-1), a head behind Eightthehardway in the Buckeye Cup and a 5 1/2-length winner going a mile Sept. 30; and Doctoriat (12-1), a length in back of Bucket Beat in the Buckeye Cup and beaten just a length as the runner-up in last year’s Endurance.

◗ Strike Your Light (5-1), a daylight winner going a one-turn mile at Churchill Downs, is the lone horse among 14 2-year-olds to have won going longer than six furlongs coming into the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile. He is likely to vie for favoritism with Jocker Justice (9-2), the winner of the six-furlong Cleveland Kindergarten and an entry-level allowance for open company in his two most recent starts.

◗ Bitzka (6-5), the dominant winner of the 6 1/2-furlong Barretts Debutante and sixth in the Grade 1 Chandelier, ships in from Southern California to face Ohio-breds for the first time in the 1 1/16-mile John W. Galbreath for 2-year-old fillies. Her 12 opponents include Someday Soon (6-1), the runner-up in the six-furlong Tah Dah and an entry-level allowance for open company in her last two starts, and My Ticket Home (8-1), a 3 1/4-length maiden winner going a mile in her career debut for trainer Rusty Arnold.