Grade 1 quality shows up for Open Mind, Louisville Thoroughbred Society

There is Grade 1 quality in a pair of listed sprint stakes for older horses on Saturday’s Churchill Downs card.

In the $300,000 Louisville Thoroughbred Society, Bentornato makes his first start since a runner-up finish in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The Grade 2 winner is part of a big field of 11 that includes six other graded stakes winners. One race earlier in the sister event, the $300,000 Open Mind for fillies and mares, Positano Sunset, winner of the Grade 1 Madison this spring, returns from a brief freshening.

Millionaire Bentornato, who has never missed the board, first proved himself in stakes against his fellow Florida-breds before venturing both abroad and around the country. He finished third while likely going longer than his preferred distance in last year’s Group 3 Saudi Derby behind a pair of future Grade 1 winners, Forever Young and Book’em Danno. In his second start after that race, he won the Grade 2 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing, earning a shot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar. Bentornato pressed a strong pace, led in the stretch, and gave way grudgingly to Straight No Chaser, who won by a half-length to secure his divisional championship.

Bentornato was entered in the Grade 1 Malibu in late December, but was scratched due to a sore foot. Following that hiccup, he did not return to the work tab until June 7. Trainer Jose D’Angelo shipped the ridgling to Saratoga with horses he intended to run there, and while Bentornato did breeze four times in New York, his fitness did not progress quickly enough to make the meet.

Bentornato hinted last year that he might need a race to be at his best, particularly off this layoff of more than 10 months. His longest gap between races to date came between the Saudi Derby on Feb. 24, 2024, and the Robert Hilton on Aug. 23, 2024, at Charles Town. Bentornato was a gallant second to a good foe in Valentine Candy before stepping up for his Gallant Bob win a month later.

If Bentornato does need a race, this salty field has logical candidates in graded stakes winners World Record and Skelly, both of whom also are Grade 1-placed; and Durante and Roll On Big Joe, both graded stakes winners at Churchill during the spring meet.

World Record’s best effort came when he ran the field off its feet for a 6 3/4-length score in the Grade 2 Amsterdam last year at Saratoga. He has made three starts this season, first overcoming pace pressure and shaking loose to win an allowance at Churchill with a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure; finishing second by a length to Durante in the Grade 3 Aristides after leading; and running a willing third in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby when farther back than usual.

The break from the gate will be key for Skelly, who could join World Record on the lead if away sharply. He compromised himself by breaking a half-step slow in some efforts last year. Skelly has earned more than $1.9 million while winning seven stakes – six of those at his favorite track, Oaklawn Park. He delivered a virtuoso performance there in May, when he rolled by 10 1/2 lengths in the Lake Hamilton with a 110 Beyer. Four weeks later, he faded to sixth in the Aristides, and is making his first start since. However, he has proven he can fire off a layoff. His season debut at Oaklawn came off more than a five-month break, and he posted a strong 107 Beyer.

Roll On Big Joe is undefeated at Churchill Downs, including a win in the Grade 3 Kelly’s Landing over Dr. Venkman and Durante. However, he was most recently fifth in the Bing Crosby, won by Dr. Venkman.

Positano Sunset, who returns in the Open Mind for Ian Wilkes, has already proven she can fire off a freshening. Given a winter break of a little more than three months, she won her first two starts of the year, including the Grade 1 Madison in April at Keeneland. She caught a sloppy, sealed track in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs; last of 10 early, she made a belated run to be sixth.

Positano Sunset would like targets to run at, but it is going to be harder for pace to develop in this smaller field of six, and there are not real need-the-lead types in this group. Millionaire Taxed, a Grade 2 winner back in 2023, has utilized different running styles. She pressed the pace before finishing fourth in the one-mile Groupie Doll last out and now cuts back.

Impel, always well thought-of, also is cutting back after scoring her first career stakes win in the Groupie Doll. The big filly has drawn the outside post, an ideal position for her to settle into her long stride.