Gold Phoenix to San Juan Capistrano Stakes

Gold Phoenix, winner of the Grade 3 San Luis Rey Stakes in March and eight other stakes in his lengthy career, is scheduled to start in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at Santa Anita on June 14.

The $100,000 San Capistrano Stakes is run at about 1 3/4 miles on turf, the longest stakes in California, and is the closing-day feature of the track’s spring meeting. Los Alamitos begins a three-week meeting on June 19.

An 8-year-old, Gold Phoenix has started in 25 stakes in his 32-race career but has never run in the San Juan Capistrano.

“There’s a good probability Gold Phoenix will run there,” trainer Phil D’Amato said earlier this week.

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The San Juan Capistrano Stakes became an objective after Gold Phoenix finished a troubled seventh in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Churchill Downs on May 2. Gold Phoenix raced in traffic in the stretch and was beaten 8 3/4 lengths by Rhetorical. Gold Phoenix finished approximately two lengths behind third-place finisher Corruption.

Earlier this month, D’Amato said Gold Phoenix was unlikely to race until the Del Mar summer meeting, which begins on July 17, but he changed his mind after watching the gelding’s recent exercise.

“He came back so good,” D’Amato said. “I don’t think he did much running at Churchill. He was stymied in the stretch. He’s training like he needs to run.”

Gold Phoenix worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on the synthetic training track at Santa Anita on Sunday, his second workout since the loss in Kentucky.

Gold Phoenix has won 11 times and earned $2,377,087. He races for the partnership of Agave Racing, the Little Red Feather Racing partnership, Marsha Naify, and Sterling Stables.

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