Mo Dont No Solves Cleveland Gold Cup

Loooch Racing Stables' Mo Dont No, sixth of 10 in his first start around two turns in the $500,000 Ohio Derby in open company, wheeled back a week and two days later to easily capture the $75,000 Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup July 4 at JACK Thistledown Racino.

Though the Gold Cup purse is in line with other Ohio-bred stakes, the Gold Cup is considered the most prestigious for 3-year-old state-bred runners.

Mo Dont No, an Uncle Mo   gelding, set the pace for about three-quarters of a mile in the 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby, an open stakes won by the Uncle Mo colt Mo Tom. Regular rider Luis Colon was able to get Mo Dont No to rate in third early in the Gold Cup, and the gelding eventually took the lead and pulled away to win by 2 1/2 lengths over Ossetra in 1:54.80 for 1 1/8 miles on a track rated fast.

Ossetra, owned by Michael Foster and trained by Doug Cowans, is by Into Mischief  , another Kentucky-based stallion. Giant Oak  , who also stands in Kentucky, is the sire of third-place Gold Cup finisher Bucket Beat. Ohio-registered horses must be foaled in the state but can be sired by out-of-state stallions.

Mo Dont No returned $3.40 to win as the favorite in an eight-horse field. Trained by Jeff Radosevich and bred by Beechwood Racing Stable out of the Defrere mare Lilah, the gelding has three wins and a second in six starts for earnings of $94,435. Lilah was a grade III stakes winner of more than $500,000.