D'Angelo leads new trainers
:quality(75))
The last time Florida-based trainer Jose D’Angelo visited Del Mar, he experienced the finest hour of his career, winning consecutive Breeders’ Cup races with Shisospicy and Bentornato in November.
D’Angelo is back at Del Mar this summer with a small stable for the track’s current meeting, which began on Friday.
“We’ve been lucky out there,” he said. “We’re excited about our summer.”
Shisospicy won the BC Turf Sprint, followed by Bentornato in the BC Sprint. They are not part of D’Angelo’s summer team at Del Mar, but the initial group of five runners arrived on Thursday. The group will include the allowance-class runners Gabaldon, Mia Familia, and Poseidon’s Law.
:: Play to Win at Del Mar! Get DRF Past Performances, Expert Picks and Clocker Reports
Gabaldon was second in the 2024 Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot in Britain. A 4-year-old gelding, Gabaldon has not raced since a fifth-place finish in an allowance at Tampa Bay Downs in January.
Mia Familia, a 3-year-old filly, was second in the minor Martha Washington Stakes at Gulfstream Park on June 6 and second in an allowance at Colonial Downs on July 2.
Poseidon’s Law, a 4-year-old colt, has not raced since a second-place finish in an allowance at Gulfstream Park in December.
D’Angelo is one of a small number of out-of-state trainers who will have a presence at Del Mar this summer.
Chris Davis, based in Kentucky, will have a stable of eight, while Brian Lynch is sending five runners owned by the Flying Dutchmen Stable. Lauren Robson, who won the first stakes of her career earlier this month at Monmouth Park, has Peachy Canyon entered in a maiden race on Friday. Sam Willensky, who has won races at Del Mar the last two summers, will have a small team of runners from his Florida base.
Davis will be the busiest of the group this weekend, with Stay for the Boom entered on Saturday and Elusive Con and Zeus’s Echo booked to run on Sunday.
“I’m bringing out a few good ones,” Davis said. “I think we’ll be pretty live. Zeus’s Echo is doing well.”
Davis mentioned Frosty Indulgence, Joejoe Go and Morunning as others he is eager to run.
“They’re in good form,” he said. “There are no stakes horses. I brought allowance horses and some claiming horses.”
Lynch knows Del Mar well. He was based at the track in the 1990s and early 2000s, and he had two stakes wins in that span. In 2024 and again last fall, the Lynch-trained Tumbarumba finished fourth in the BC Dirt Mile at Del Mar.