Mo Dont No, Altissimo shine on Best of Ohio program

Mo Dont No cemented his superiority in his home state and Altissimo polished his rising star as the annual Best of Ohio program came to Thistledown on Saturday afternoon.

Mo Dont No rolled by 12 lengths for a third consecutive victory in the $150,000 Best of Ohio Endurance and Altissimo posted his fourth stakes victory of the season with a nine-length score in the $150,000 Best of Ohio Sprint, the highlights among five stakes on the state showcase program.

Two-time reigning Ohio-bred horse of the year Mo Dont No, a 5-year-old Uncle Mo gelding, is trained by Jeff Radosevich for owner Ron Paolucci's Loooch Racing Stables; both are perennial leaders on the Ohio circuit. With his third straight win in the Endurance, Mo Dont No now owns eight career stakes victories. However, he had just one win in six starts this season coming into his bid for the three-peat, that being an allowance optional-claiming event at Thistledown. Since then, he had finished fifth in the Sydney Gendelman Memorial Handicap and second in the Honey Jay Stakes, both won by Altissimo, and second, beaten a neck by Let'scalliteven, in the Governor's Buckeye Cup. That race now stands as his only loss in six efforts at the Endurance's classic 1 1/4-mile distance.

On Saturday, Mo Dont No ($2.80) broke cleanly under Scott Speith and was a settled second, two lengths back, as Fusaichi's Wind cruised through an opening half-mile in 47.28 seconds, and six furlongs in a moderate 1:13.62 on a sloppy, sealed track. Mo Dont No began to eat into the pacesetter's margin around the far turn, and edged to a half-length lead at the quarter pole. From there, he was much the best, powering away in the stretch to his 12-length victory. He stopped the clock in 2:07.20.

Mo Dont No avenged his loss last out to Let'scalliteven, who was a distant second, 1 1/4 lengths clear of Fusaichi's Wind. The victory may have earned Mo Dont No a shot in the Breeders' Cup next month at Churchill Downs.

"I think this is the first time the whole year we’ve had him 100 percent, and he’s beaten everybody in Ohio," Paolucci said. "So let’s give him a chance to see what he can do."

In the Sprint earlier on the card, Altissimo ($3.60) broke from the outside post in the field of six under regular rider Christian Pilares. Sent away as the favorite, he dueled with second choice Moves Like Ali through sharp opening splits of 21.82 seconds for the quarter and 44.80 seconds for the half. Moves Like Ali folded and faded leaving the far turn, and Altissimo scooted away to a three-length lead in upper stretch. He widened from there to his final margin, stopping the clock in 1:11.02 for six furlongs.

Coincidentally came on for second, a half-length ahead of Rivers Run Deep. The latter is the four-time reigning champion Ohio-bred sprinter, and was seeking a fourth victory in this race.

Altissimo, a 5-year-old Noble Causeway gelding, is trained by Richard Zielinski for breeder Nancy Lavrich and co-owner Ronald Zielinski. Unraced as a juvenile, Altissimo won his first three career starts in 2016 before finishing sixth in the Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup in his first stakes try. Later that fall, he was eighth in the Best of Ohio Sprint at Mahoning Valley.

Last fall, Altissimo was second in the Cardinal Handicap to Mo Dont No, with Rivers Run Deep checking in third. After opening this year with a fourth in a Mahoning Valley allowance, Altissimo took off on a four-race win streak at all of Ohio's Thoroughbred tracks, including three stakes victories, to propel himself toward the top ranks of the state. He won the Babst/Palacios Memorial by six lengths over Rivers Run Deep in April at Belterra Park, then rolled by 8 1/4 lengths over that rival in the Gendelman Memorial in June at the same track. In August, he defeated Mo Dont No by 3 3/4 lengths in the Honey Jay at Thistledown. Two weeks later, he attempted to stretch out to 1 1/4 miles in the Buckeye Cup and finished third – ending his win streak, but setting him up for the Sprint after a brief freshening.

Takechargedelilah takes Distaff

Takechargedelilah overhauled multiple stakes-winning pacesetter Leona's Reward in the stretch for a 1 1/4-length victory in the $150,000 Best of Ohio Distaff. Under John McKee, she finished the 1 1/8 miles in 1:55.48.

Takechargedelilah ($9.80), a 3-year-old Take Charge Indy filly trained by Tom Drury Jr. for StarLadies Racing, now sports a consistent career record of 4-2-0 from seven starts. The Distaff marked her first stakes victory. A maiden and allowance winner against open company in New York earlier this year, she finished sixth in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks in July, but returned to her home state to finish second in the Vivacious Handicap.

The Distaff was delayed more than an hour from its scheduled post time, first due to a starting gate malfunction, and then when Grizabella reared and flipped in the loaded starting gate, resulting in her late scratch.

"[Takechargedelilah] handled [the delay] a whole lot better than I did," Drury said. "When she came back [to the paddock] we threw a blanket on her and when we took it off she was still calm and cool. I felt good about her and the race set up like we thought it would."

Drillit romps in Galbreath

Drillit passed her two-turn test with flying colors, powering clear to win the $150,000 John W. Galbreath Memorial Stakes for 2-year-old fillies by 16 1/4 lengths.

Drillit ($6.20), a Drill filly trained by Robert Gorham for Mast Thoroughbreds, has never been worse than second in five career starts, but all her prior races came at distances of six furlongs or less. The filly finished second in the Hoover Stakes in July against males and third in the Miss Ohio Stakes before breaking through with her first stakes victory in the Tah Dah Stakes, her final prep for the Best of Ohio card.

Drillit, with T.D. Houghton in the irons, completed the 1 1/16 miles of the Galbreath Memorial in 1:50.22. Totally Obsessed was second, with Miss Ohio winner Baby Nina in third.

Diamond Dust wires Juvenile

Diamond Dust, despite ducking out in the stretch, easily posted a four-length, wire-to-wire score in the $150,000 Juvenile. He finished the same 1 1/16 miles in 1:49.66 under Luis Colon.

Diamond Dust ($7.40), by Paynter, is trained by Tim Hamm, who co-bred and co-owns the gelding with WinStar Farm. He has never been worse than second in five career starts, with a victory in the Hoover Stakes over Drillit and a runner-up effort in the Cleveland Kindergarten over the summer.