BY BROCK SHERIDAN

As reported by Daily Racing Form Sunday, Florida-bred millionaire Bentornato will get some time away from the racetrack.

Trainer Jose D’Angelo told Mike Welsh of Daily Racing Form that he no longer plans to send the 4-year-old son of Bridlewood Farm stallion Valiant Minister to the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint scheduled for Feb. 22 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse nor the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen on April 5 at Meydan Racecourse. 

D’Angelo said Bentornato will be rested with a long-term target being a return to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

A graded stakes winner of $1,131,830, Bentornato was last seen finishing second to Straight No Chaser after leading in deep stretch in the $1,840,000 Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 2. In his previous start on Sept. 21, he topped a Florida-bred trifecta in the Grade 2 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing, defeating Sunny Breeze in second with Buccherino third.

 

He was entered to run in the Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 but was scratched.

“We’ve decided to stop on him and give him some time off,” D’Angelo said in the DRF story. “He ran some very hard races at the end of last year, made two long trips to California and he’s still not 100 percent since coming back from Santa Anita. We believe he is going to come back even bigger and better as a 4-year-old this year but we’re not going to rush him into anything.

“Right now our primary goal is to get him back to the Breeders’ Cup and we’ll set a schedule working back from that race once he’s ready to return to training.”

Owned by Angel Lozano of Miami in the name of his Leon King Stable Corp., Bentornato won the first four races of his career as 2-year-old in 2023 at Gulfstream Park including the $90,000 Proud Man, and the $100,000 Dr. Fager and $200,000 Affirmed, the first two legs of the male division of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association Florida Sire Stakes.

Bentornato was bred in Florida by Tanma Corp. and is out of the Put It Back mare Her Special Way. He has won five of nine career starts with two seconds and two thirds.

Return to the January 21 issue of Wire to Wire