Chief Cicatriz rides winning streak into Phoenix Gold Cup

PHOENIX – Chief Cicatriz may be a 7-year-old now, but he goes into Saturday’s $75,000 Phoenix Gold Cup at Turf Paradise in razor-sharp form with four straight wins, all stakes. He’ll need that “A” game again as he leads a field of nine in the six-furlong marquee event of the meet, which goes as race 7.

Saturday’s card also includes the $30,000 Sun City Handicap (race 5) at a mile on turf for fillies and mares and the $30,000 Turf Paradise Handicap (race 8) for older horses at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

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Chief Cicatriz, owned by Roy Gene Evans and trained by Shawn Davis, has had a superb career, winning 14 of 21 starts. He comes off two stakes wins at Sunland Park. He’s won all five Turf Paradise starts, including the Luke Kruytbosch on Nov. 9. Chief Cicatriz is the 125-pound highweight in the Phoenix Gold Cup.

Mr. Jagermeister, 5, has been a warrior as well, winning 10 of his 20 starts. Trained by Valorie Lund, Mr. Jagermeister set the pace before tiring to fourth going a mile on turf in the Cotton Fitzsimmons here Jan. 11. That was his first start in a couple months, he’s worked superbly since, and he may be set for improvement Saturday. Mr. Jagermeister is back to his game of sprinting on dirt in the Phoenix Gold Cup. He did well to be third in this race a year ago after dueling through sizzling splits.

Minister of Soul won this race last year and is coming off a fifth to Chief Cicatriz in the KLAQ Handicap on Dec. 28 at Sunland Park. He’s worked well here since the KLAQ and loves this place, having won all four of his starts here. Smart Prospector steps up in class after winning his last six and nine of his last 10. Royal Trump comes off a third to the Bob Baffert-trained sprinter McKale in an optional claimer on Jan. 10 at Santa Anita.

◗ Kool Kate heads a field of seven in the Sun City Handicap. She was a runaway winner of the Glendale Handicap going 1 1/16 miles on the turf here Jan. 11. Her main rival may be True to Herself, who won an optional-claiming race at Golden Gate Fields the last time she raced on turf and is coming off a third in an optional claimer on the Tapeta there.

◗ Arizona Moon and Gato Guapo appear the top contenders in the Turf Paradise Handicap. Arizona Moon rallied strongly to be second in the Cotton Fitzsimmons here Jan. 11, beaten just a neck by California raider and Grade 1 winner Ohio. Gato Guapo ran fifth in the Fitzsimmons but beat Arizona Moon on this course last fall.