Gabaldon, D’Angelo return from Royal Ascot adventure

Gabaldon returned to the U.S. Thursday following his strong second-place finish in Wednesday’s Windsor Castle Stakes during the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting in Great Britain.

“He came out of the race good and he traveled good too,” said trainer Joseph D’Angelo Friday at Gulfstream Park after flying to Miami Thursday. “Right now, he’s at Churchill Downs in quarantine. All looks good with him. Everything is in good order.”

Gabaldon earned his way into the Windsor Castle field of 2-year-olds by capturing the $120,000 Royal Palm Juvenile, a Royal Ascot qualifier that offered a $25,000 travel stipend, May 11 at Gulfstream Park. The son of Gone Astray, who was purchased for just $9,000 at the OBS October sale by Soldi Stable LLC, set the pace under Emisael Jaramillo in the six-furlong Windsor Castle Stakes before settling for second behind Ain’t Nobody.

“I was very confident in him. I really liked him for this race. I thought he would be so, so tough,” D’Angelo said.

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Del Mar Oct. 31 is the long-range goal for Gabaldon, said D’Angelo, who has not set a schedule for the gray colt.

“He is going to decide where he goes,” D’Angelo said. “We have to give him time after a long trip.”