DEL MAR, Calif. – For the second consecutive year, the veteran gelding Gold Phoenix was the best-placed American-based runner in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar. For the second consecutive year, such a distinction was not enough for a top-three finish in the nation’s richest grass race. Gold Phoenix was fourth last year, 3 1/2 lengths behind Rebel’s Romance. On Saturday, Gold Phoenix was fifth, beaten four lengths by the surprise Irish-based winner Ethical Diamond. Rebel’s Romance, El Cordobes, and Amiloc, all based in Britain, were second through fourth. “I need the Breeders’ Cup Turf to be all North American horses and then I’d look like a genius,” trainer Phil D’Amato suggested Sunday. Gold Phoenix has started in the last four runnings of the BC Turf, gaining an automatic berth each year with a win in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap in late summer. Gold Phoenix is the only four-time winner of that race. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. In 2022, Gold Phoenix was 10th in the BC Turf at Keeneland. In 2023 at Santa Anita, Gold Phoenix was fourth. In his four appearances in the BC Turf, Gold Phoenix has earned $640,000, a sizable chunk of his career earnings of $2,302,587. A try at a fifth appearance in the 2026 BC Turf is not out of the question. D’Amato said that Gold Phoenix will stay in training next year as an 8-year-old. There were no immediate plans for Gold Phoenix’s next race. “We’ll have to see how his energy level is this week,” D’Amato said. Gold Phoenix has won 11 of 29 starts. He races for the partnership of Agave Racing, Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables, and Marsha Naify. An Irish-bred, Gold Phoenix joined D’Amato’s stable in late 2021 as a 3-year-old. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.