Yates mulling next move for his top sprinter Dean Delivers

Dean Delivers is getting a little breather while his connections start to think about what race might serve as his bridge to a potential start in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.

The Florida-bred last raced July 29 and finished third behind champion Elite Power and Gunite in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga. Dean Delivers has since returned home to Florida.

“We shipped him back to Stonehedge Farm after the race and we’re giving him just a brief freshening,” trainer Michael Yates said Monday. “He came out of the race great, and we thought he deserved a little bit of a freshening.

“We’re still contemplating the Breeders’ Cup. We’ve not decided on what we’re going to do between his last race and the Breeders’ Cup yet. We’ll wait and see how he’s doing.”

Stonehedge has watched homebred Dean Delivers elevate his game this meet at Gulfstream Park. He owns the two highest Beyer Speed Figures of the current Royal Palm meet, putting up a 100 for his victory in the Grade 3 Smile at six furlongs on July 1 and a 99 for his score in the Big Drama over seven furlongs on May 20.

“He’s a very seasoned horse, and I think when we turned him back to three-quarters he gave us the best performance of his career,” Yates said.

The effort in the Smile sent Dean Delivers to Saratoga, where he set the pace in the slop in the Vanderbilt and finished 6 1/4 lengths behind Elite Power.

“I thought he ran very well,” Yates said. “I would have liked to have seen the race on a dry, fast track. I don’t know that the outcome would have changed – maybe the margin. I thought he ran very creditable, ran very hard.”

Dean Delivers is a 4-year-old who has won 5 of 17 starts and earned $473,060. He will have to be made eligible for the Breeders’ Cup, according to a nominations application, but he earned a $30,000 bonus toward entry fees as part of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Dozen program that includes the Smile.

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Dean Delivers is by the Yates-trained Cajun Breeze, a son of Congrats who won four races, placed in three stakes, and earned nearly $250,000. Dean Delivers is from the female family of Grade 2 winner Ivanavinalot, the dam of champion Songbird.

Bentornato eyes Florida Sire Stakes

Bentornato remains on deck for the Florida Sire Stakes program following his Aug. 12 win in the Proud Man at Gulfstream. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88, which is the highest number earned by a 2-year-old at the current Royal Palm meet at Gulfstream.

“He’s a very nice horse, a really nice horse,” trainer Jose D’Angelo said. “I really liked him from the first time we worked him at Palm Meadows. Now, the plan is the Florida Sire Stakes. He’s a big, good-looking horse and got a very high Beyer for a baby.”

Bentornato is Italian for “welcome back,” said D’Angelo. The horse was given the name because he was returned after being sold at auction. Bentornato is now 2 for 2.

D’Angelo will saddle Breezer, a 2-year-old first-time starter by Medaglia d’Oro, in Friday’s sixth race. The maiden special weight at 5 1/2 furlongs on Tapeta is the richest offering on the card, with a purse of $60,000.

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