Rinaldi faces uphill battle in Mohawk

Under normal circumstances, Rinaldi, coming off a popular wire-to-wire victory in the West Point for which he received a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure, would be considered the horse to beat in Saturday’s $150,000 Mohawk Stakes at Belmont Park. But even trainer Jimmy Bond admits Rinaldi is going to have to step his game up another notch to compete against the likes of the Mike Maker-trained duo of Somelikeithotbrown and Cross Border in the 1 1/16-mile turf fixture for New York-breds.

Rinaldi, a 4-year-old son of Posse owned by his trainer, had a good year at 3 and is having even a better one this season. Rinaldi captured two legs of the New York Stallion Series on grass before concluding his 3-year-old campaign finishing fourth against open company in the Grade 3 Saranac at Saratoga. He began 2020 with a second-place finish against statebred allowance company at Belmont Park before coming back to beat the same kind at Saratoga as a stepping-stone to his 1 1/2-length victory over Dot Matrix in the West Point.

“He’s just a solid horse who tries and tries hard for you every time you lead him over, although he’s picking up some weight and the waters get a lot deeper on Saturday,” Bond said. “The Maker horses are a couple of bears coming out of graded stakes company, so we’re going to have to step up again to be competitive. He came out of his last race in good order, blew out really well in company with Evaluator for this race, and we’re not going to try to over-think our strategy. He likes the front, and I expect to see him in front again.”

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Somelikeithotbrown will face statebred company for the first time since his 2-year-old campaign in the Mohawk. Third in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Somelikeithotbrown was a Grade 3 winner at 3 and defeated Grade 2 competition this summer at Saratoga when a wire-to-wire winner of the Bernard Baruch. He posted a career-best 105 Beyer Figure in defeat in his most recent outing, a second behind Factor This in Pimlico’s Grade 2 Dinner Party decided over a yielding course just three weeks ago.

Cross Border, a former $20,000 claimer, is perfect in three starts against statebreds, including an easy six-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile Lubash this summer at Saratoga. He has since been both Grade 1- and Grade 2-placed around three turns in the Sword Dancer and Bowling Green, respectively, and has not posted a Beyer Figure of less than 97 in his last five starts.

Dot Matrix, who threw his head at the break but still ran on well enough to finish second in the West Point, and Therapist, who checked in another three parts of a length farther back in third, also are key contenders in the Mohawk.

Ticonderoga Stakes

Like Rinaldi, Myhartblongstodady also comes off a career-best effort and will put her winning streak on the line when facing just five other older, New York-bred filly and mare turf specialists in the $150,000 Ticonderoga.

Myhartblongstodady led throughout before holding safe Wegetsdamunnys by a length to capture the Yaddo Stakes last month at Saratoga. The win was the third in a row and second since joining trainer Jorge Abreu’s barn earlier this season for Myhartblongstodady, a 5-year-old daughter of Scat Daddy, who began her career with trainer Chad Brown.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect her to take the lead when she won the allowance race first time back, and she was able to make the lead and put them to sleep early in the stakes, too,” Abreu said. “I think the break from the Yaddo to this race has done her really well. There seems to be a little more speed in this field, but I don’t necessarily think she needs to be in front to win. What does concern me is that she picks up a lot of weight, carrying 125 pounds on Saturday.”

Wegetsdamunnys is winless in eight career stakes outings but has been knocking at the door of late for trainer Christophe Clement, having finished second in the Yaddo following a third-place effort earlier this summer in the Dayatthespa at the Saratoga.

War Canoe, runner-up in the Dayatthespa, Short Pour, Pecatonica, and Niko’s Dream complete the compact lineup.