Gold Phoenix, Motorious keep Del Mar stakes streaks alive

Rare is a horse so talented and durable that they can win the same graded stakes four years in a row. It had never been done at Del Mar until Gold Phoenix joined the elusive four-peat club with his triumph in Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar H. (G2) on Pacific Classic (G1) day at Del Mar.

Gold Phoenix won the 2022 Del Mar H. by a head, the 2023 edition by 1 1/4 lengths, and last year’s renewal by a neck. Five straight defeats leading up to the 2025 Del Mar H. left the seven-year-old gelding as a tepid 21-10 favorite in search of his fourth triumph, but like clockwork, Gold Phoenix rallied from midfield against slow fractions of :25.05, :50.89, and 1:16.51 to edge fellow closers Stay Hot, Atitlan, and Truly Quality by a neck in a four-horse photo finish.

“Today he broke pretty sharply, so he was a little closer to the pace than he usually is,” said winning jockey Flavien Prat. “But I was able to have him relax and save ground. When I asked him to run, he gave me his usual strong finish in the stretch. He was between horses nearing the wire, and I think that helped him keep going strong to the wire. I was pretty sure we won the race.”

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Gold Phoenix reached the finish line in 2:16.09 and secured a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1). Mondego, Final Boss, City Exile, Balnikhov, and Endlessly trailed the field.

Perhaps next year, Gold Phoenix’s D’Amato-trained stablemate Motorious can join the four-peat club. The seven-year-old gelding is three-quarters of the way there after rallying under Antonio Fresu to win the $150,000 Green Flash H. (G3) for the third year in a row.

Motorious won the five-furlong grass dash by comfortable margins in 2023 and 2024, but he needed a little help from the stewards to nab the 2025 renewal.

Motorious broke a bit slowly at the beginning of the five-furlong grass dash and was squeezed back to last place through an opening quarter-mile in :21.41. He rallied strongly down the lane to finish second by a nose against Reef Runner, who crossed the wire in :55.90, but the stewards ruled that Reef Runner was the cause of Motorious’ early troubles and disqualified him to second place, sending Motorious to the winner’s circle.

“If that had not happened at the start, he would have won by two (lengths),” said Fresu. “It’s a five-furlong race, and I lost so many lengths. I checked him pretty hard. When I pulled him out, the way he finished from the quarter pole to the wire, it was impressive. He just put it in another gear. Usually, when this happens in a race at this distance, they never come back like that. I was sure that I might not have won it at the wire.”

Beyond Brilliant rounded out the trifecta, followed by No Nay Hudson, Book Smart, Queen Maxima, Sorrento Sky, Sumter, Boss Sully, Virat, First Peace, and Wound Up.

Winning the Green Flash earned Motorious a ticket to compete in the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1). He finished second in the 2024 edition, his lone defeat from five starts at Del Mar. With the Breeders’ Cup returning to Del Mar this year, Motorious is well-positioned to factor again.

“We are going to follow the same plan as last year and wait till the Breeders’ Cup and try and do it again,” said D’Amato.

Two other stakes took place on the Pacific Classic undercard. The $300,000 Del Mar Mile (G2) went to Formidable Man, winner of the Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1), Hollywood Derby (G1), Del Mar Derby (G2), and Eddie Read (G2) since last summer. A sharp homestretch charge from behind splits of :23.77, :47.08, and 1:10.52 carried Formidable Man to victory by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:34.20, bringing his record over the Del Mar lawn to a perfect 6-for-6.

Almendares, Cabo Spirit, Zio Jo, Suchet, and King of Gosford trailed home the winner, a Michael McCarthy trainee with Umberto Rispoli in the stirrups.

The one-mile $150,000 Torrey Pines (G3) for three-year-old fillies yielded an upset as 7-10 favorite Tenma, a four-time graded stakes winner, tired to finish third in her first start since running fourth in the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (G1).

In the meantime, red-hot California-bred Om N Joy closed from near the back of a seven-horse field to beat longshot pacesetter So There She Was (who set splits of :22.97, :47.13, and 1:11.66) by half a length in 1:36.99. Howin, Lolo Le Plume, Allihies, and A Thousand Miles trailed the top three finishers.

After losing her first seven starts, Om N Joy has now won five races in a row—including four stakes—for trainer Aggie Ordonez. Jockey Kent Desormeaux has guided the daughter of Om in all of her stakes wins.