Mo Dont No using Cardinal Handicap as Cigar Mile prep

Ron Paolucci is staying in racing after all, and on Saturday one of his top horses, Mo Dont No, will be preparing for a Grade 1 stakes when he runs in the $75,000 Cardinal Handicap at Mahoning Valley.

“I want to get him ready for the Cigar Mile,” said Paolucci, who operates Loooch Racing Stables.

The Grade 1, $750,000 Cigar Mile is Dec. 1 at Aqueduct.

The Cardinal, a six-furlong race for 3-year-olds and up, will share a card with the $75,000 Ohio Debutante for fillies and mares. Both races are restricted to horses bred in Ohio.

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Paolucci, 49, said earlier this year he was looking to disband his racing and breeding operation, but that is no longer the case, he said Tuesday.

“I was really contemplating getting out, then just like anything else, you have a change of heart,” he said, adding he thought about how his exit from the sport might impact his trainers.

Paolucci has about 100 horses in training and that number will probably decrease to about 70, he said, as he is moving out some of his lower-level horses to concentrate on stakes, allowance, and high-end claiming horses. Paolucci also has 15 broodmares, and he said they are to remain part of the breeding program in Ohio.

As for Mo Dont No, he will continue to be one of the flagship runners for Paolucci.

“He’s honestly the smartest, coolest horse I’ve ever known,” he said. “He’s so laid back. Nothing bothers him.”

Mo Dont No is one of Ohio’s best as an eight-time stakes winner who has earned $848,080. The horse trained by Jeffrey Radosevich is 3 for 3 at Mahoning Valley. He is part of a field of seven Saturday that includes Altissimo, who is coming off a nine-length win in the $150,000 Best of Ohio Sprint at Thistledown for which he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 97.

“Altissimo is a real racehorse,” Paolucci said. “It’s going to be a good race.”

Mo Dont No won last year’s Cardinal by two lengths over Altissimo, leading throughout. He has followed the same pattern of races up to this year’s renewal, again turning back from a win at 1 1/4 miles in the $150,000 Best of Ohio Endurance.

Mo Dont No will break from post 7 under Luis Colon.

“We’ll take him a little bit off the pace and see what happens,” said Paolucci.

Paolucci also has Moves Like Ali in the Cardinal.

Leona’s Reward will be looking to win the Ohio Debutante for the third year in a row. The 1 1/16-mile race will open the program Saturday. Leona’s Reward is the 127-pound highweight off a runner-up finish in the Best of Ohio Distaff, and she will spot her four rivals seven to 18 pounds each. Victor Lebron has the mount for trainer Timothy Hamm.