Gold Phoenix

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,...

It doesn't take long for the Kentucky Downs meeting to hit full gear, as Saturday's program features three graded contests, including the GIII DK Horse Nashville Derby Invitational Stakes, with prize money that could reach $3.1 million. The purse remains intact should one of the 10 Kentucky-breds--eight in the main body of the field and two also-eligibles--is home first over the mile and five-sixteenths journey along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The four foreign raiders are ineligible for the KTDF money, but the base purse of $2.5 million already makes it one...

Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) will get a second chance at the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. With a win in Del Mar's GII Del Mar H., the 5-year-old gelding earned a 'Win And You're In' spot in the gate for the November event. 10th behind Rebel's Romance (Dubawi {Ire}) in last year's rendition of the race, Gold Phoenix rebounded in 2023 with a pair of graded-stakes wins including a narrow victory in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. to start his year March 23. Though he faltered in both...

7th-Gulfstream, $71,400, Msw, 3-16, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.67, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. ACCEDE (f, 3, Into Mischief--Jibboom {MGSW & GISP, $487,600}, by Mizzen Mast), the 7-5 favorite for her career bow, broke with the front flight but was outsprinted for the lead by Snow Princess (Quality Road). Two wide between rivals into the far turn, she was able to tip inside as the field swung past the quarter pole and make a sustained run against the rail to clear off with a furlong to run. Maerdama (Girvin), another first-time starter,...

In becoming the latest Grade I-winning import for trainer Phil D'Amato at Santa Anita on Sunday, Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) advertised the quality Ireland has to offer the international buyers, according to the horse's breeder Jim Ryan of Milltown Stud.  Gold Phoenix stormed to Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. glory for D'Amato, who has done similarly-well with Irish-breds Rhea Moon (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Going Global (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) in recent times. It was the gelding's debut victory at Dundalk for Kieran Cotter in 2021 that caught the attention...

Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) jumped out of the ground with an eighth of a mile to run in Saturday's GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. at Santa Anita and outsprinted the fast-finishing Du Jour (Temple City) for a maiden success at the top level. Beaten for speed, the chestnut settled in the second half of the field as Air Force Red (Air Force Blue) cut out a modest pace of :47.06 for the opening half-mile while pursued by Masteroffoxhounds (War Front). The Kilroe field was tightly bunched as they...