Motorious getting a freshening, will skip Dubai trip
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ARCADIA, Calif. – The top turf sprinter in California is not traveling to Dubai after all.
Motorious, a five-time graded stakes winner who finished second in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, was turned out, trainer Phil D’Amato said this week. A trip to Dubai had been discussed, but the idea was scrapped.
“We ended up turning him out, I didn’t like his last race,” D’Amato said.
Motorious finished seventh in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on Dec. 29, a hillside race at Santa Anita that D’Amato intended to use as a bridge to the $1.5 million Al Quoz Sprint on March 28 in Dubai.
A late-runner, Motorious raced surprisingly close to the pace in the Hernandez and flattened out as the 7-5 favorite. The 8-year-old gelding does not typically campaign in winter, and his performance indicated to D’Amato he wanted a break after finishing fifth in the 2025 BC Turf Sprint.
“Usually, we give him time off after the Breeders’ Cup,” D’Amato said. “Kind of changed it up this year to try to see if we could run him in Dubai [by running] him through his normal break period. I don’t think he liked that.”
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D’Amato said Motorious was sent to Kingfisher Farms in central California for a freshening.
“Probably give him 30 more days and he’ll come back in,” D’Amato said.
Motorious, owned by Anthony Fanticola, has won 10 races and $988,104 from 25 starts.
* D’Amato is not without representation in the California turf-sprint division. His stakes-placed veteran Sorrento Sky is one of six entered in the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita.
The hillside turf sprint includes Richard Mandella-trained Sumter and Seal Team, Florida shipper Quereme Pass, allowance-caliber Genius Jimmy, and Chilean Group 1 winner Gran Oriente, recent upset winner of a Santa Anita allowance sprint.
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