Zipse: Bentornato is back & bound for Breeders’ Cup Sprint

Louisville, Ky.

Although it was only a listed stakes, Saturday’s $300,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society at Churchill Downs had the feel of a graded one going in. After a dominating victory by Bentornato, it could be the race that produces the winner of this year’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

A sore hoof and then an extended time needed to get him back into race-ready form kept Bentornato away from the races for 10 months. Finally back in the starting gate for trainer Jose D’Angelo, the Florida-bred looked as good as ever as he rolled home a 5 1/4-length winner over Here Mi Song and Skelly in the six-furlong affair.

A 4-year-old ridgling son of Valiant Minister, Bentornato sped the distance in 1:08.43 over a fast track with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons. It was good enough to break the stakes record and fell less than a second short of the Churchill Downs track record set nearly 20 years ago.

Out of Put It Back mare Her Special Way and owned by the Leon King Stable of Khrysselv Mavarez, Bentornato raised his career record to an excellent 10: 6-2-2 with $1,282,180 in the bank. Even more important, he signaled he is on track to make it back to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint for the second straight year.

In last year’s championship event at Del Mar, Bentornato was as game as could be as he battled to a narrow, half-length defeat to eventual sprint champion Straight No Chaser. Let go at 28-1 in that one, you won’t see those type of odds on him again anytime soon.

Saturday’s big effort was his first race back since the Breeders’ Cup and rivaled its quality. He did a little bit of everything in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society.

After breaking well and going right to the lead, he allowed Ortiz to ease him off the blazing early speed of Skelly. Shifting to the outside, he then moved to Skelly with ease through a wicked half in 44.24 seconds. The race’s second choice could not answer the pressure of Bentornato and soon succumbed to the winner.

“This was all Bentornato,” Ortiz said. “He broke sharp, and I wanted to take him back to get outside. Once I was able to get outside, he just took off. He’s a really impressive horse and did a lot of that on his own.”

Although he was a long shot last fall at Del Mar when facing older horses for the first time, Bentornato has been an impressive horse from the start.

He began his career with four wins in a row at Gulfstream Park. The streak included three stakes and was broken narrowly when he stretched to two turns in his final race as a 2-year-old.

Voted Florida’s top juvenile male of 2023, he was shipped to Saudi Arabia to make his sophomore debut in February 2024. In what we now know to be a key race, Bentornato faded to third while going a mile against the classy pair of Forever Young and Book’em Danno in the rich Saudi Derby (G1).

After the long trip, Bentornato did not race again for six months. Returning last August he was a game second in the $500,000 Robert Hilton Memorial going seven furlongs at Charles Town.

Following that solid effort he finally cut back to three-quarters of a mile for the first time in more than a year and was a determined winner of the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) at Parx. That would be his final race before his strong performance in the Breeders’ Cup.

Bentornato's last three races were at his favorite distance of six furlongs, and they were his three best. Sent off as the 17-10 favorite, Saturday’s victory was his fifth stakes win overall. As for what is next, it could be straight to the Breeders’ Cup. His trainer hinted that he might not run again before Del Mar.

“Our goal is to get back to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, and this was a great spot to get him back to the races,” D’Angelo said. “We’ll see how he comes out of this race to see if he needs another start before the Breeders’ Cup, but he seems to be a horse that may not need to have another start.”

With an admirable blend of being able to go very fast early and still having something in reserve to fight all the way to the wire, there is good reason why this $170,000 2-year-old-in-training purchase is so formidable and consistent at the distance.

With Book’em Danno, the current leader of the division, questionable to make the trip out west for the championships, Bentornato might go from being a long shot in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint to being the one to beat this year.