Gold Phoenix eyes record third straight Del Mar Handicap
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Gold Phoenix can claim a piece of Del Mar history Saturday by becoming the first three-time winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap.
Since the race was moved from dirt to turf in 1986, Gold Phoenix and Spring House (2008-09) are the only two-time winners.
When the now 6-year-old Gold Phoenix won in 2022, he rallied wide to win by a head. Last year, Gold Phoenix fought through traffic and again rallied wide to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths.
The come-from-behind style does not always work, as jockey Kyle Frey can painfully attest. In the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf July 27, Gold Phoenix was stuck on the rail in the stretch without sufficient running room, eventually finishing seventh by 4 1/4 lengths.
“It’s not like he had a bad day that day,” Frey recalled Thursday. “There was nowhere to get out in time to make a run.”
Frey wants another chance aboard Gold Phoenix on Saturday.
“We’ll work out a trip and hopefully run them all down,” he said.
:: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence.
The $300,000 Del Mar Handicap, the fifth race on an 11-race program that begins at 1:30 p.m. Pacific, drew eight stakes winners, including the Argentine import El Encinal.
Last December, El Encinal won the Group 1 Carlos Pellegrini Internacional, South America’s leading race for older horses. In doing so, El Encinal earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. The winner of the Del Mar Handicap also receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Turf.
The Del Mar Handicap will be El Encinal’s first start of 2024.
Last year, Gold Phoenix followed his win in the Del Mar Handicap with a quiet fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita and a surprise fourth at 51-1 behind Auguste Rodin in the BC Turf, also at Santa Anita.
Gold Phoenix, who races for the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing, Marsha Naify, and Sterling Stables, runs from off the pace. The style worked as recently as May 4 when Gold Phoenix closed from fifth of eight under Frey to win the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita.
In the Del Mar Handicap, Gold Phoenix will be chasing Balladeer, who is winless in six starts since the John Henry Turf Championship last October. Balladeer faded to finish eighth in the Eddie Read Stakes.
Gold Phoenix is trained by Phil D’Amato, who also starts Balnikhov and Rockemperor in the Del Mar Handicap.
Rockemperor, 8, was second by a neck in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles on turf June 16 at Santa Anita.
“He’s an old pro,” D’Amato said.
Balnikhov will start at 1 3/8 miles for the first time after closing well to finish third in the Eddie Read Stakes.
“He can switch off and relax,” D’Amato said. “He’s got a great closing kick. I don’t mind trying the distance, given how well he’s running and training.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.