Rivers Run Deep seeks five-peat in Honey Jay Stakes

The field for the $75,000 Honey Jay Stakes for Ohio-breds on Saturday at Thistledown isn’t particularly large – seven horses – but it lacks nothing in quality and storylines. The field features a pair of Ohio-bred champions in horse of the year Mo Dont No and standout sprinter Rivers Run Deep, as well as Altissimo and Hijo de Sheltowee, both of whom have beaten Rivers Run Deep recently.

The millionaire Rivers Run Deep has won 14 stakes in his career, including the last four editions of the Honey Jay and three editions of the Best of Ohio Sprint from 2014-16. He finished second by a nose in last fall’s edition to Hijo de Sheltowee, who sprung a $22.60 upset.

Rivers Run Deep doesn’t appear to have lost much at age 7, as he has finished second in a pair of stakes recently, the Edward Babst/Albert Palacios Memorial Handicap and the Sydney Gendelman Memorial Handicap. The newcomer Altissimo won both of those races to push his win streak to three and is the lukewarm 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Honey Jay.

Rivers Run Deep, trained by Chris Hartman, drew the rail, with Channing Hill in the irons. Altissimo will leave from post 2 with Christian Pilares up for trainer Richard Zielinski.

Mo Dont No has earned $728,080 while putting together a career record of 25-16-5-0, including seven stakes victories. He built a six-race win streak in 2017, including a repeat victory in the Best of Ohio Endurance Stakes. However, the Jeff Radosevich trainee has just one win in four starts this year and has been unplaced in his two most recent outings, including a fifth in the Gendelman Memorial. Scott Spieth is up on the gelding, who drew post 4.

Hijo de Sheltowee has not won a stakes race since his Best of Ohio upset and has changed barns several times since then, most recently landing with Radosevich via the claim box after finishing a close second in an optional claimer last month.

The field is rounded out by the multiple stakes winner Cake Pop; the unbeaten Brown Buckeye, making his stakes debut; and Spectacular Array.