Cardinal a Best of Ohio Sprint rematch

Mahoning Valley hosted one of the biggest days on the Ohio racing calendar three weeks ago in the annual Best of Ohio fall showcase program. Now, kicking off another big stretch on the Buckeye State’s calendar – with one of the state’s richest open stakes looming – Mahoning Valley hosts a rematch of one of those Best of Ohio races.

Two-time Ohio-bred horse of the year Altissimo won his third edition of the Best of Ohio Sprint on Oct. 30. He faces six others emerging from that race in Saturday’s $75,000 Cardinal Handicap for Ohio-breds. The race is co-featured on the program with the $75,000 First Lady Stakes, headlined by 2020 Ohio horse of the year Esplanande.

The Saturday program sets the table for a big Monday card at Mahoning Valley, as the track hosts the $200,000 Steel Valley Sprint for open 3-year-olds. The card also will include a second open stakes, the $75,000 Mahoning Distaff.

Grade 3-placed Altissimo became a millionaire with his victory in this year’s Best of Ohio Sprint. It was the 11th career stakes victory for the Richard Zielinski trainee, who also won the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Sprint. He finished ninth last year behind Chief Randel, who is winless since, and who finished eighth in this year’s Sprint.

The 8-year-old Altissimo will be making his fifth straight start in the Cardinal. He finished second to another former Ohio horse of the year, Mo Dont No, in 2017, with standout sprinter Rivers Run Deep in third. Altissimo won the race in 2018, defeating Mo Dont No, but finished fifth in 2019 as that foe won another edition. Altissimo was third last year.

Diamond Dust, the 2018 Best of Ohio Juvenile winner, finished third in this year’s Best of Ohio Sprint. Also emerging from the race are fourth- through eighth-place finishers Morestride, It’s Official, Liberate – the 2019 Juvenile winner – Midnight Mikey, and Chief Randel. It’s Official is the defending winner of the Cardinal.

Esplanande has never been worse than third in 12 starts, but the Grade 1-placed filly is looking to get back in the winner’s circle against statebreds in the First Lady for trainer and co-owner Tim Hamm. The multiple stakes winner comes in off a pair of runner-up efforts in allowance races, most recently beaten a neck by Twerk, who she faces again here.

Rising star Amadevil has won all five starts since beginning her career in July for trainer and co-owner David Wolochuk, with those five victories coming by a combined 55 lengths. In her last two starts, she has beaten older rivals in the Michael G. Mackey Memorial Angenora Stakes on Sept. 2, in which Esplanande was third, and the Scarlet and Gray Handicap on Oct. 7. The First Lady is restricted to 3-year-olds.