ARCADIA, Calif. – Gold Phoenix finally proved he can be as good on turf at Santa Anita as he is at Del Mar.
A month after he won his fourth consecutive Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, Gold Phoenix won the Grade 2 John Henry Championship on Saturday at Santa Anita. It was his fourth try in the race.
With a ground-saving trip under jockey Umberto Rispoli, Gold Phoenix ($5 second favorite) won the 1 1/4-mile John Henry by a 1 1/4 lengths over favorite Stay Hot. Spycatcher finished third.
“Hats off to Umberto, that was a really nice ride,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “He kind of cut up the inside, split horses, changed leads and got the job gone.”
D’Amato also deserves credit. The decision to start 7-year-old Gold Phoenix in the John Henry, a race he lost the last three years after winning the Del Mar Handicap, was a change in plans. One reason was Gold Phoenix was 3 for 15 on Santa Anita turf compared to 5 for 9 at Del Mar.
The original plan following the Del Mar Handicap was to train Gold Phoenix into the Breeders’ Cup Turf, but Gold Phoenix signaled to D’Amato that he was ready for more action.
“He came out of the (Del Mar Handicap) so good, and the small field was tempting,” D’Amato said, referring to the seven-runner John Henry field. “I’d gotten two breezes into him (already) after that last race. He didn’t miss a beat.
“Now it’s kind of the same thing into the Breeders’ Cup, two little breezes and hope for the best,” D’Amato said.
The John Henry unfolded perfectly for Gold Phoenix and runner-up Stay Hot. Both lagged at the back of the field while pacesetter Balladeer cleared by more than four lengths on the backstretch.
Stay Hot jockey Mike Smith tried to set a trap for Gold Phoenix and Rispoli. “I was going to pull one of the old-timer tricks, and see if I could get (Gold Phoenix) trapped down in there,” Smith said. “He got out, and I had to go around.”
Rispoli and Gold Phoenix raced two-wide through the far turn, split horses into the lane, and powered home in 1:58.74 (99 Beyer Speed Figure). Stay Hot lost ground rallying wide and finished a neck in front of Spycatcher. The order of finish was completed by Mondego, Balladeer, Dicey Mo Chara and Rastaman Vibe.
Gold Phoenix, an Irish-bred gelding sired by Belardo, has won 10 races and $2,152,587 from 28 starts. He is owned by a partnership that includes Agave Racing Stable, Little Red Feather Racing, Marsha Naify, and Sterling Stables.
Now it’s on to the BC Turf, for the fourth time. Gold Phoenix finished 10th in the 2022 BC Turf, and fourth in 2023 and 2024.
The last horse to win the BC Turf after prepping in the John Henry was Johar in 2003, when the John Henry had a different name. Known previously as the Clement L. Hirsch, it became the John Henry in 2012.
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