Bentornato Returns in Louisville Thoroughbred Society

Leon King Stable's Bentornato  has been entered to make his first start since finishing second in the 2024 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) in the $300,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes Sept. 13 at Churchill Downs.

The now 4-year-old Valiant Minister   ridgling ran an enterprising race in last year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar, where he was beaten a half-length by Straight No Chaser . Sent off at 28-1 odds, Bentornato pressed fractions of :21.74 and :44.12 and briefly grabbed a half-length lead in the stretch but could not hold off the eventual champion male sprinter. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to grade 1 winner Mullikin  in third.

Trained by Jose D'Angelo, Bentornato was bred in Florida by Tanma Corp. He was Florida's champion 2-year-old male in 2023, then ventured into graded company in 2024, beginning with a third behind Forever Young  and Book'em Danno  when stretched to a mile in the Saudi Derby (G3).

After running second in the 2024 Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, he won the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) at Parx Racing before shipping west for the Breeder's Cup in his first race against older horses.

Saturday's six-furlong dirt race drew a field of 11. World Record  returns from Del Mar, where he was third in the July 26 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1). Roll On Big Joe , fifth in the Crosby, won the Kelly's Landing Stakes (G3) at Churchill in his previous start.

The field also includes the enigmatic Skelly , one of the faster sprinters in the country though yet to win above the grade 3 level. Ten of Skelly's 12 career wins have come at Oaklawn Park. The Steve Asmussen trainee hasn't run since finishing sixth as the heavy favorite in the Aristides Stakes (G3) May 31 at Churchill.

Insights from Thoro-Graph

• World Record hasn't really developed from 3 to 4. He always runs well, but not well enough to beat top older sprinters if they run their best.
• Roll On Big Joe has never run fast enough to threaten these.
• Bentornato jumped to a big figure in the Breeder's Cup, but the effort took a toll, and he hasn't been seen since. If he runs back to his best he's a contender here, if he doesn't, he'll be an interesting contender at Del Mar.
• Here Mi Song  got to his top figures in his last two. Those two efforts may take something out of him, but even if they don't he's only a borderline contender.
• Nash  ran the race of his life two back, but it came in the slop, and his last was a big bounce. On his best this colt is a contender, but it's hard to have confidence in him.
• Skelly is the best sprinter in the country when he runs his race, which is either almost always at Oaklawn or almost always early in his campaigns, and before he tails off, depending on how you look at it. If Skelly runs as well as he did coming off his last layoff, he's gone.

Thoro-Graph performance figures are calculated based on a race’s time with adjustments for beaten lengths, track speed, ground loss, weight carried, and, when necessary, wind. The lower the number, the better the race. Complimentary sheets for this week’s race can be found online at Thoro-Graph. Learn more about how to analyze Thoro-Graph data at www.thorograph.com/basics.