HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Trainer Jose D’Angelo said drawing an inside post with Bentornato for last Saturday’s $2 million Golden Shaheen was his lone concern going into the race. And in the end, his instincts proved correct after the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner finished second behind defending champion Dark Saffron following a bit of a slow start in the Group 1 dash at Meydan. “I knew after the draw we could be in trouble, that the inside post and the start was his weakness,” said D’Angelo from his base at the Palm Meadows training center on Tuesday. “He’s a horse when he comes from a layoff, it kind of takes him one start to figure things out at the gate. I brought him to the gate three times over there trying to prepare him just for that. You never see him running fifth in the middle of the race, but that’s what happened because of the start. And the way he kind of lost position near the inside down the backstretch probably cost him the race.” Despite coming out second best in his 2026 debut, D’Angelo said he was still extremely pleased with his horse’s performance and is looking forward to the remainder of Bentornato’s campaign. A second Breeders’ Cup victory and earning the Eclipse Award that narrowly eluded him last season are the goals. “He’ll fly back on April 1 and go right to Keeneland, where I’ll have about a dozen horses for the upcoming meet,” D’Angelo said. “We’ll probably stay in Kentucky through part of the Churchill Downs meet, then head to Saratoga, where we were very fortunate last year. As for Bentornato, we having nothing planned just yet for his next start.” :: Play Gulfstream Park with confidence! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports are available now.  Bentornato will be joined in Kentucky later this spring by fellow Breeders’ Cup winner and champion female sprinter Shisopicy. Her planned trip to also compete in Dubai last weekend was scuttled due to an infection that cost her valuable training time earlier this winter. Shisospicy, who easily defeated males by 2 1/2 lengths in the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, has had two works since finally getting back on a normal training schedule upon recuperating from her untimely illness. “She’s doing very well now. She’ll work again Saturday and every 10 days moving forward, with the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for fillies during Derby week at Churchill Downs her first goal,” D’Angelo said, referring to the $500,000, Grade 2 Unbridled Sidney on May 1. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.