Santa Anita: Gold Phoenix, Selenaia lead Thursday stakes

Gold Phoenix, last seen running fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 4, makes his 6-year-old debut on the same course Thursday in the Grade 3, $100,000 American Stakes at a mile on turf at Santa Anita.

The American and the Wilshire (G3) originally were scheduled for this weekend before incoming wet weather forced postponement of the Saturday and Sunday cards.

Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Gold Phoenix tallied three graded-stakes wins last year prior to outrunning his odds in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders’ Cup Turf. Dispatched at 51-1 there, Gold Phoenix rallied from second to last under Juan Hernández to be beaten by just 2 ½ lengths by international star Auguste Rodin.

Before the Breeders’ Cup, Gold Phoenix won the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1) in March at Santa Anita and both the Eddie Read (G2) at 1 1/8 miles and Del Mar Handicap (G2) going 1 3/8 miles during the Del Mar summer meet.

A gelding by Belardo, Gold Phoenix was bred in Ireland, where he made one start before coming to the U.S. for the 2022 season. He is 17: 6-3-3 with $1,221,757 in earnings. Campaigned by Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify, Gold Phoenix again will be ridden by Hernández.

Two-time graded-stakes winner Prince Abama joins Gold Phoenix in the lineup for D’Amato. Like his stablemate, Prince Abama is a 6-year-old gelding bred in Ireland. The son of Tamayuz returned from a 13-month layoff at Santa Anita on March 3 and finished seventh in the Kilroe Mile.

Before the lengthy layoff, Prince Abama in 2022 won both the Hollywood Turf Cup (G2) going 1 1/2 miles at Del Mar and the San Marcos (G3) at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita.

Owned by Michael House, Prince Abama is 13: 4-4-1 with $460,053 in earnings. He will be ridden for the first time by Antonio Fresu.

Multiple stakes winner Johannes returns from a 10-month layoff for trainer Tim Yakteen. As a 3-year-old last year, the Nyquist colt won both the Baffle Stakes on the hillside turf course and one-mile Pasadena Stakes during the Santa Anita winter-spring meet.

Emboldened by those victories, Johannes was shipped to Churchill Downs for a try in the American Turf (G2) at 1 1/16 miles on the Kentucky Derby undercard. He finished fifth, beaten by two lengths in what would be his final start of the year. Umberto Rispoli was aboard Johannes in all three starts last year and again has the call Thursday.

A homebred for Cuyathy, Johannes has a record of 7: 3-0-1 with $183,859 in earnings.

The up-and-comer in the group is Genius Jimmy, who was not nominated and had to be supplemented to make his stakes debut. Trained by Michael McCarthy, the 4-year-old Jimmy Creed colt returned from a year layoff and rolled to a front-running allowance victory going a mile on turf at Santa Anita on March 3. The winning time of 1:34.95 earned speed figures that are competitive with this group.

Genius Jimmy will be ridden by Kazushi Kimura. He has a record of 6: 2-0-0 with $86,840 in earnings for owners Pappas Horse Racing, Joseph Jaconi, Shane O’Neill and William Strauss.

Fuerteventura is a multiple stakes winner but never at the graded level. Trained by Jonathan Thomas, the 5-year-old gelding by Summer Front will make his first California start. His two career stakes wins came in last year’s Brooks Fields Mile Stakes at Canterbury Park and the 2022 Jersey Derby on turf at Monmouth Park.

Fuerteventura exits a win in the March 14 Cotton Fitzsimmons Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Turf Paradise. He will be ridden by Kyle Frey for the first time. Fuerteventura is 16: 6-3-0 with $354,194 in earnings. He is owned by the estate of Brereton C. Jones, who bred the gelding, and Robert LaPenta.

Selenaia has bona fides for Wilshire

As the lone graded-stakes winner in a field of 10, Selenaia looms a major threat for Thomas in the Wilshire.

Bred in Ireland, Selenaia will make her first start since an off-the-board finish in the Dueling Grounds Oaks in September at Kentucky Downs. Two starts before that, the 4-year-old Sea the Moon filly shipped to Santa Anita and scored in the Honeymoon Stakes (G3) at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables, Selenaia is 6: 3-0-0 with $114,630 in earnings. She will be ridden by Umberto Rispoli for the first time.

D’Amato has three entered including Leisurewear, who cuts back in distance after earning minor awards in both the 1 1/2-mile Astra at Santa Anita on Jan. 21 and the 1 1/4-mile Santa Ana (G3) on Feb. 24. The track’s leading rider Hernández was aboard in the Santa Ana and again has the call.

Leisurewear is owned by CYBT, Michael Nentwig, Dennis B. Tierman and Daniel Weiner. The 6-year-old mare by Kodiac is 18: 2-5-4 with $176,875 in earnings.

Turnerloose makes her first start of the season for D’Amato. Last year she hit the board in both the John C. Mabee (G2) going 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar and the Bayakoa (G3) on dirt at Los Alamitos on Dec. 15.

Turnerloose, a 5-year-old Nyquist mare, is owned by Abbondanza Racing, Medallion Racing and Dawn and Ike Thrash. She is 16: 3-2-3 with $689,392 in earnings. Turnerloose will be reunited with Fresu, who was aboard for last year’s runner-up result in the Mabee.

Stay and Scam wheels back and stretches out 2 1/2 weeks after earning her first stakes win in the Irish O’Brien going about 6 ½ furlongs on the hillside turf course March 17. Trained by Doug O'Neill, she was not nominated to this race and had to be supplemented by owner-breeder Reddam Racing.

Stay and Scam has won three of her last four starts with the lone defeat coming in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint at Santa Anita on Jan. 13. The 4-year-old Square Eddie filly is 10: 5-2-1 with $290,760 in earnings.