Gold Phoenix eyes fifth Del Mar Handicap; Motion seeks to extend streak
:quality(75))
DEL MAR, Calif. – Two improbable win streaks are on the line Saturday in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap – one streak by a horse, another by a human.
Gold Phoenix, the Phil D’Amato-trained gelding who won Del Mar Handicap the past four years, seeks his fifth victory in the 1 3/8-mile turf race. But 8-year-old Gold Phoenix is not the only one trying to extend a streak.
Test Score’s trainer Graham Motion and assistant Alice Clapham are practically unbeatable when they ship from Maryland to California in summer. Since 2022, Motion has won seven straight summer stakes at Del Mar. Test Score, a Grade 1 winner, will try to make it eight on Saturday.
Gold Phoenix and Test Score top the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap, which awards a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf. It’s a tall order. Since 2000, the 18 Del Mar Handicap winners who ran in the BC Turf produced one second (Champ Pegasus, 2010), one third (Timboroa, 2001).
The Del Mar Handicap field also includes Grade 2 winners Atitlan and Mondego; Grade 3 winner Nitti; and restricted stakes winners Flashiest, Old Pal, and Santa Barbarian. The Del Mar Handicap is the last of 10 races Saturday.
Gold Phoenix’s recent victory in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes was his record sixth career Del Mar stakes and third stakes this year. At age 8, Gold Phoenix has not slowed down.
“I’m really happy with how he’s going right now; he’s in a zone” D’Amato said. “He’s just in a really good mode.”
Gold Phoenix, who has won 13 races and $2,587,087 from 34 starts, won three of his last four with jockey Hector Berrios, including a thrilling victory last out. Gold Phoenix rallied from last, smoked his final three-eighths in 34.14 seconds, and won the 1 1/8-mile Eddie Read by a nose. Gold Phoenix enters the Del Mar Handicap as the fastest finisher, while Test Score is the class.
Despite finishing sixth last out in the Grade 1 Arlington Million at Colonial Downs, Test Score fits perfect Saturday. Winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf in January at Gulfstream Park, Test Score also finished second two starts back in the Grade 1 Manhattan at Saratoga. And his trainer never loses in summer at Del Mar.
“The pressure’s building,” Motion joked when reminded of his Del Mar summer streak. Motion’s two local stakes this summer – Warming, Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon; Vronti, $100,000 CTT and TOC Stakes – made it seven straight wins for Motion in Del Mar summer stakes. Those include victories by Sister O’Toole in 2022-23, Spendarella, 2022; and Heredia and Gimme a Nother in 2025.
Test Score, who shipped Wednesday to California, enters off a puzzling sixth. “It was a bit of a head-scratcher because I thought he went into it really well,” Motion acknowledged. “Manny [Franco] had him in a good spot, but when those horses quickened, he wasn’t in a position to go with them. He doesn’t quicken like they do.”
Motion is optimistic the longer distance of Del Mar Handicap will suit the 4-year-old Test Score. “He’s more of a plodder,” Motion said. “Now that he’s a bit older, this [long distance] is possibly what he wants to do.”
Juan Hernandez rides Test Score, third last fall in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar after being blocked much of the stretch. Test Score has won five races and $2,225,825 from 16 starts.
Atitlan could post an upset if he improves off his creditable fourth-place comeback in the Wickerr Stakes. A two-time Grade 2 winner, Atitlan was making his first start in nearly a year in the one-mile Wickerr.
Trained previously by the late John Shirreffs, Atitlan is now trained by Richard Mandella. In the Wickerr, Atitlan ran his final quarter-mile in a flashy 22.18, rallied from last, and was beaten only 1 1/2 lengths by next-out Grade 2 winner King of Gosford.
Atitlan “ran a decent race, it should set him up good,” Mandella said. “He came out of it good.”
Atitlan’s regular rider Hector Berrios sticks with Gold Phoenix; Umberto Rispoli will ride Atitlan.
Mondego benefits by the longer distance and a prep. He finished seventh by three lengths in the Eddie Read, and figures as a contender based on his victory in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes in May at Santa Anita. Michael McCarthy trains Mondego, whose rider is Antonio Fresu.
Flashiest finished second in three successive long-distance turf stakes this season at Santa Anita. Saturday is his first start since early June, when he finished a distant fourth in the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup at Saratoga. Armando Ayuso rides Flashiest for trainer Leonard Powell.
The pace of the Del Mar Handicap is likely to be set by longshot Packs a Wahlop. Others in the field are Atomic Age and Maaz.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.