Del Mar: Gold Phoenix 3-peat, D’Amato sweep lead undercard
Ireland-bred Gold Phoenix rallied along the rail in the final sixteenth of a mile under jockey Kyle Frey on Saturday to win the Grade 2, $300,000 Del Mar Handicap for the third straight year.
Gold Phoenix, outrun behind a slow pace until the stretch, responded with a brilliant spurt to score by a neck in 2:17.05 for the 1 3/8 miles over a firm Del Mar grass course. The early fractions were 25.77, 51.13, 1:16.44, 1:41.44 and 2:05.46.
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“Coming for home today on the inside, I was hoping something was going to open up,” Frey said. “I said to myself if it doesn’t, I’m going to make it open up. Didn’t have to, happily. He’s just fun to ride.”
“Definitely,” winning trainer Phil D’Amato said when asked if he felt anxious. “Whether we were going to get through and then whether we were going to carry our momentum. Kyle just kept going and riding and riding and kept his head down, and the big horse got his head in front and got the job done. He’s got a heart of gold. Whenever he can get clear he makes things happen.”
Second in a gritty performance under Héctor Barrios was Dicey Mo Chara, who was a head in front of Balnikhov in the field of six older horses.
Balladeer and There Goes Harvard were scratched from the original field.
The Del Mar Handicap was a win-and-you’re-in event leading up to the Breeders’ Cup Turf over the same course Nov. 2. Gold Phoenix thus ensured himself of an invitation to that contest.
The 6-year-old gelding owned by Little Red Feather Racing and Sterling Stables finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf 10 months ago.
The victory was the eighth for Gold Phoenix in 21 outings. The first prize of $180,000 increased his bankroll to $1,522,757. As the 2-1 favorite, he paid $6.80.
Conclude completes D’Amato turf sweep
In a mild 5-1 upset, Conclude and jockey Héctor Berrios combined to win the $300,000 Del Mar Mile (G2).
“The race was perfect,” Berrios said. “For me I tried to go to the lead very comfortably. When I took the lead I asked him to move, and he responded. When you go to the lead, and you put the pressure on too late, all the horses get a little tight (near the end). Today was a good day.”
Conclude, successful by a head over Almendares, supplied D’Amato with a sweep of the three stakes run over the infield grass course Saturday, including wins with Gold Phoenix in the Del Mar Handicap and Motorious in the Green Flash Handicap (G3).
“I left it up to Hector,” D’Amato said about going forward early. “The horse likes to be up there close. He broke bad last time. We did a little gate schooling with him, and he broke like a rocket today, and Héctor nursed him along beautifully and got the job done.”
A 4-year-old son of Collected owned by Madaket Stables and Little Red Feather Racing, Conclude ran the once-around distance in 1:34.05. The early fractions were 23.45, 47.14 and 1:10.72.
It was the fifth victory in nine starts for Conclude, who earned first money of $180,000 to increase his bankroll to $546,100. Last summer the colt won the Del Mar Derby (G2).
Motorious wins again in Green Flash
England-bred Motorious, the 2-1 betting choice with Antonio Fresu in the saddle, rallied from out of the clouds in the stretch to win for the second year in a row in the $150,000 Green Flash Handicap (G3) for older turf sprinters.
Outrun in the early stages of the five-furlong turf dash, Motorious got up in the last sixteenth of a mile to score by three-quarters of a length over long shot Johnny Podres. No Nay Hudson came in third in the field of 10. Noble Reflection and Connie Swingle were scratched.
Motorious, a 3-year-old gelded son of Mahaarat who is trained by D’Amato, ran the five furlongs in a rapid 56.14 seconds. It was the seventh success in 19 starts, and the first prize of $90,000 increased his earnings to $517,604.
“This horse didn’t get things his own way starting off this year, and he came back to a turf course he really likes and got a nice set up and showed what he can do,” D’Amato said. “You never know with these fractions what you’re going to get.”
The Green Flash was a win-and-you’re-in qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 2 over the same course.
Motorious returned $6.60 to his backers. He is owned by Anthony Fanticola of Newport Coast, Calif.
Odds-on Hope Road takes Torrey Pines
Hope Road, the 1-2 favorite under jockey Juan Hernández, took command easily on the far turn and breezed to an impressive five-length triumph Saturday at Del Mar in the $150,000 Torrey Pines (G3) for 3-year-old fillies.
“I saw the leader go and sat right next to them,” Hernández said. “(Hope Road) really surprised me today, you know. She is really quick, but she settled down really well today behind the pace. I was waiting for her to hit the quarter pole, but I got attacked around the half mile, so I had to make my move a little early. But you know she responded really well. All congrats go to her.”
Hope Road, a daughter of Quality Road owned by Barbara Ranck-Perry’s Cicero Farms and trained by Bob Baffert, scored her third consecutive victory. She stepped the one mile on the main track in 1:36.15 to earn first money of $90,000 and increase her bankroll to $198,020. She paid $3.00 to win.
“I knew there was a lot of speed in the race,” Baffert said. “You don’t know until they do it, but at the three-eighths pole, I thought she’ll get it. She settled very nice. Juan rides these horses with so much confidence, I don’t say anything to him. So he’s on his own.”
Nothing Like You, also trained by Baffert, was a distant runner-up in the field of six fillies with Grand Slam Smile coming in third. Simply Enchanted and Omaha Girl were withdrawn from the contest.