D'Amato plans to run four in rich John Henry

Led by the recent stakes winner Gold Phoenix, trainer Phil D’Amato intends to have as many as four runners in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita on Sept. 28.

Balnikhov, Divin Propos, and Rockemperor are D’Amato’s three other expected runners in the John Henry Turf Championship.

Gold Phoenix won the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 31 for a record third consecutive year, earning a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 2. Gold Phoenix was 10th in the 2022 BC Turf at Keeneland and fourth in the race at Santa Anita last year.

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After the Del Mar Handicap last month, there were talks about skipping the John Henry Turf Championship and training Gold Phoenix toward the BC Turf.

“He bounced out of that race like it was nothing,” D’Amato said on Friday. “I don’t see any reason not to put him in the John Henry.”

The John Henry, run at 1 1/4 miles, will have its richest purse of $750,000, a massive increase of $201,500 in 2023. The race is one of three with enhanced prize money from the track’s parent company, 1/ST Racing, in an effort to give the Sept. 28 program a higher profile.

The track is planning food and music promotions to draw a larger ontrack crowd.

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