BY MONMOUTH PARK PRESS OFFICE (EDITED)

OCEANPORT, NJ—Trainer Jose D’Angelo said he has always adhered to one rule during his career: Win or lose, you assess what happened and quickly move on.

He will be doing just that less than a week after he won his first Grade 1 in the United States, the $1,847,000 Aristocrat Franklin-Simpson with Howard Wolowitz at Kentucky Downs Saturday.

D’Angelo has four horses entered for Friday at Gulfstream Park and 10 set to run at Gulfstream and Monmouth Park on Saturday

“After every success or failure in my career I have tried to forget it the next day because I know I have to get back to work,” said D’Angelo, who oversees 85 horses with divisions at Gulfstream Park, at Monmouth Park and in Kentucky. “Whatever happens, that was yesterday. Today is a new day. That is how I have always approached things.

“But this one was not so easy to quickly forget.”

After several near-misses at Grade 1 wins since arriving in the United States from Caracas, Venezuela, D’Angelo said he is enjoying the milestone.

“I’m still happy,” he said. “That night I couldn’t sleep. But I always try to focus on the work I have the next day.”

A successful trainer in Venezuela, D’Angelo won the Grade 3 Sam Davis with No More Time at Tampa Downs on Feb. 10. But Grade 1 wins have proven to be elusive.

In 2020, he saw Jesus’ Team finish third behind winner Swiss Skydiver in the Grade 1 Preakness, second to Knicks Go in the Grade 1 Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and then second again to Knicks Go in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup the following January.

This year, the D’Angelo-trained Florida-bred Gabaldon finished second in the US$139,000 Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot.

Gold Square’s Howard Wolowitz, named after a character on the TV series The Bing Bang Theory, was finally the one to break through for the 34-year conditioner.

“I was very confident in him going into that race,” D’Angelo said. “But it’s a horse race. You don’t know what is going to happen when they break from the gate. Also, it’s a hard track to watch what is going on.

“I expected him to win but I still can’t believe it at the same time.”

D’Angelo said he celebrated by going to a local Mexican restaurant that night.

Asked how often he watches the replay of Howard Wolowitz’s race, D’Angelo said “every five minutes.”

Howard Wolowitz, he said, will train up to the $1 million Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) to be run at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Nov. 2.

Among his entries Friday at Gulfstream is Florida-bred Welcome Back, winner of the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the first leg of the filly division of last year’s FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes.

She is winless in three starts since, all this year, but just missed in her last race when third, a half-length behind winning Florida-bred Fields of Green in a $50,000 optional claiming starter allowance last out on Aug. 18.

It’s a contrast to where he was with Howard Wolowitz last week and where he will be with the colt in another seven weeks. 

“I wish I could enjoy that race more but I have work to do,” D’Angelo said. 

Brock Sheridan contributed to this story

Return to the September 12 issue of Wire to Wire