When Gold Phoenix won the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap on Labor Day weekend in 2022, the turf marathon represented his first stakes win and confirmed his status among Southern California’s leading grass runners. A year later, Gold Phoenix is back in the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap on Saturday with a more established position in the division. In six starts in the last year, Gold Phoenix has raced only in Grade 1 and Grade 2 races, winning twice – the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March and the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on July 30 at Del Mar. The wins put Gold Phoenix at the fore of a field of 11 in the Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles, a race his trainer, Phil D’Amato, has dominated of late. D’Amato’s stable has won seven of the last nine runnings of the Del Mar Handicap and has three runners this year, including Cash Equity and Cathkin Peak. Gold Phoenix, who races for Sterling Stables, Little Red Feather Racing, and Marsha Naify, is the stable’s highest-profile starter, a 5-year-old gelding capable of a sharp late rally. “He’s such a tactical horse,” D’Amato said. “He can stalk and can come from way out of it.” :: Visit the Del Mar Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies, and more. The Del Mar Handicap is the final race on a stellar 11-race program that begins at 1:30 p.m. Pacific. The Del Mar Handicap is part of a 20-cent jackpot pick six that has a mandatory payout Saturday. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita. Last fall, Gold Phoenix finished 10th of 13 at 41-1 in the BC Turf at Keeneland. Gold Phoenix is one of five graded stakes winners in the Del Mar Handicap, along with Azul Coast, None Above the Law, Offlee Naughty, and Planetario. The Del Mar Handicap is the first start in a graded stakes on turf in the United States for Missed the Cut, who won the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot in Britain in 2022. Planetario and Offlee Naughty were first and second in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita in June. Offlee Naughty, who won consecutive graded stakes at Santa Anita in April and May in races at 1 1/4 miles and 1 1/2 miles, has not raced since the San Juan Capistrano. “It might have been a touch too far,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “He had a lot of furlongs in an eight- to 10-week span. I wasn’t disappointed with the effort in hindsight.” Planetario finished fifth by two lengths in the Grade 1 United Nations Stakes at 1 3/8 miles on turf on July 22 at Monmouth Park. “He made a nice move and hung a little bit,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “We were a little disappointed at Monmouth.” A four-time stakes winner, Planetario was supplemented to the Breeders’ Cup program earlier this summer, Mandella said. The $50,000 payment makes the 5-year-old horse eligible to the Breeders’ Cup program for the remainder of his career. The winner’s share of the Del Mar Handicap is worth $180,000. A win would put Gold Phoenix over the $1 million mark in earnings. Gold Phoenix will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, the leading rider at the current Del Mar meeting through Wednesday. Hector Berrios rode Gold Phoenix in the Eddie Read, but has committed to riding Planetario in the Del Mar Handicap. “We’re playing musical jockey chairs,” D’Amato said. “We land with the leading rider.” :: DRF's 2023 Del Mar headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. Cathkin Peak will be ridden for the first time by Antonio Fresu, while Kent Desormeaux has the mount on Cash Equity. Cash Equity won two allowance races on turf earlier this year. The Del Mar Handicap will be his longest race since a fifth in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles at Del Mar last November. Cathkin Peak, seventh in the restricted Wickerr Stakes at a mile on turf on July 23 at Del Mar in his first race of the year, will start in the longest race of his career in the Del Mar Handicap. “We’ve wanted to experiment with a longer distance with him ever since his last race, and we decided this would be the best path to take,” D’Amato said. “Antonio Fresu has been breezing him and thought by the way he gallops out that he can run this far.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.