By Jill Williams
Just a quarter hour after Idea Generation (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) lulled the GII Flower Bowl Stakes field to sleep at Saratoga, Dicey Mo Chara (GB) (Adaay {Ire}) tried the same tactics on the other coast in the GII Del Mar Handicap, but didn't have the same head of steam afforded the Saratoga winner and found a late dogfight instead. Favored Gold Phoenix (Ire) (g, 6, Belardo {Ire}–Magnifica, by Mizzen Mast) “loves to fight,” according to rider Kyle Frey, and kicked it into high gear late to run down the pacesetter, capturing the Del Mar Handicap for the third year in a row. Balnikhov (Ire) (Adaay {Ire}), a MGSW who was third last out in the July 28 GII Eddie Read Stakes, closed from the back for third.
The Del Mar Handicap is a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, which Gold Phoenix tried each of the past two years. His best finish was a fourth last year to Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), which also marked a career-best 102 Beyer for the now-6-year-old gelding.
Shortly after the break Saturday, Gold Phoenix dropped over to the rail, carving out a clear-cut third, and he stayed there under cover as GSW Dicey Mo Chara, who was most recently second in the Eddie Read, did his best to stall his rivals with :25.77 and :51.13 early fractions in the 1 3/8-mile event. After a mile in 1:41.44 with the field compacting but no one truly threatening, Gold Phoenix, still third on the rail, was shaken up by Frey, found a hole on the inside, and charged through just strides before the wire to nip Dicey Mo Chara by a neck.
“Definitely [some anxious moments],” said winning trainer Phil D'Amato. “Whether we were going to get through and then whether we were going to carry our momentum. Kyle [Frey] 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.”
Inaugurated in 1937, the Del Mar Handicap has seen D'Amato in the winner's circle a record nine of the last 11 years. Gold Phoenix, the only three-time winner of the race, is co-owned by Little Red Feather Racing, who has won the Del Mar Handicap five times in conjunction with various partnerships. Little Red Feather owns Gold Phoenix with Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify.
Winner of the 2023 GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes, Gold Phoenix got a five-month freshening after last year's Breeders' Cup Turf. Off-the-board finishes in two Southern California graded events this year were sandwiched around a May 4 win in the GII Charles Whittingham Stakes. The chestnut has been a factor in the SoCal turf division since 2022–he's cleaned up in six graded events–after winning his lone Irish start in 2021.
Pedigree Notes:
With his fifth crop racing now, the British-based Belardo (Ire), an early sire son of the exceptional Lope de Vega (Ire), is the sire of 13 black-type winners worldwide, including seven graded winners. He has another U.S. stakes winner in MGSW Bellabel (Ire), who is also trained by D'Amato.
Magnifica, the dam of Gold Phoenix, is a full-sister to Hong Kong GISW Sea Defence and to U.S. MGSW & GISP Jibboom. The latter is also the dam of GSW Accede (Into Mischief) and GSW-Ire Flying Jib (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). A $70,000 purchase by Jim Ryan at the 2014 Keeneland November sale, Magnifica has a 2-year-old full-brother to Gold Phoenix–a 115,000gns RNA at the 2023 Tattersalls October sale–and a yearling filly by Lucky Vega (Ire), another son of Belardo's sire. The mare is a winning daughter of Mizzen Mast, who has 41 stakes winners as a broodmare sire.
THREE PEAT
Gold Phoenix & @FreytheF make a move on the rail to get up at the wire in the GII Del Mar Handicap presented by @JRA_WorldRacing & earn a return ticket to the @BreedersCup Turf. 🎟️ pic.twitter.com/IXHJlT4uf3
— Del Mar Racetrack (@DelMarRacing) August 31, 2024
Saturday, Del Mar
DEL MAR H. PRESENTED BY THE JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION-GII, $300,500, Del Mar, 8-31, 3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:17.05, fm.
1–GOLD PHOENIX (IRE), 123, g, 6, by Belardo (Ire)
1st Dam: Magnifica, by Mizzen Mast
2nd Dam: Palisade, by Gone West
3rd Dam: Peplum, by Nijinsky II
(€24,000 RNA Ylg '19 GOFSPT). O-Little Red Feather Racing,
Sterling Stables, LLC and Marsha Naify; B-Mighty Universe Ltd
(IRE); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Kyle Frey. $180,000. Lifetime Record:
21-8-3-3, $1,522,757. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Dicey Mo Chara (GB), 121, g, 6, Adaay (Ire)–Leonica (GB),
by Lion Cavern. (48,000gns Wlg '18 TATFOA; £70,000 RNA Ylg
'19 GOFFPR). O-Red Baron's Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal
LLC; B-Worksop Manor Stud (GB); T-Leonard Powell. $60,000.
3–Balnikhov (Ire), 122, g, 5, Adaay (Ire)–Leeward, by First
Defence. (€27,000 Ylg '20 ARDEAY). O-Little Red Feather
Racing, Madaket Stables LLC and Old Bones Racing Stable, LLC;
B-T. de La Heronnierre & Gestut Zur Kuste AG (IRE); T-Philip
D'Amato. $36,000.
Margins: NK, HD, 1. Odds: 2.40, 3.10, 3.90.
Also Ran: Rockemperor (Ire), Master Piece (Chi), El Encinal (Arg). Scratched: Balladeer, There Goes Harvard.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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