Gold Phoenix to begin 8-year-old campaign in Grade III San Marcos Stakes

Multi‑millionaire gelding Gold Phoenix (IRE), trained by Phil D’Amato, is slated to make his 8‑year‑old debut in the Grade III San Marcos Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile turf feature at Santa Anita on Feb. 14. The race, listed as a Grade 3 with a $100,000 purse, offers an early-season platform for older turf horses to establish form and for connections to map out a spring campaign.

Gold Phoenix arrives with a record of 29: 10-3-5 and career earnings topping $2.3 million. The Irish-bred veteran closed last season with a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1, his fourth straight Breeders’ Cup Turf appearance. Last year’s campaign included graded victories in the Del Mar Handicap (G2) and the John Henry Turf Championship (G2), and the gelding carries the seasoning of a multiple graded-stakes winner into a new target he has not previously contested. Sports Yahoo noted that this will be Gold Phoenix’s first start in the San Marcos.

Paulick Report relayed trainer comments on the colt’s preparation. “Off since finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) Nov. 1, D’Amato said Gold Phoenix is slated to make his 8‑year‑old debut in the San Marcos (G3) on Feb. 14 going 1¼ miles on turf.” Gold Phoenix drilled five furlongs on Santa Anita’s synthetic training track in 59.60 seconds, his fourth recorded work since Dec. 31, a steady build toward a routing spot early in the meet.

Jockeying plans list Kazushi Kimura as the pilot for the San Marcos, according to Sports Yahoo; Kimura was aboard for Gold Phoenix’s Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile victory in 2023. Ownership listings vary slightly across reports. Sports Yahoo lists Agave Racing Stable, Little Red Feather Racing and Marsha Naify and partners, while Paulick and Santa Anita training notes add Sterling Stables to that ownership group. Those entries bear watching on the official overnight.

The race will not be without quality opposition. Paulick noted that trainer Jonathan Thomas has two entered, including Truly Quality, who won the G2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar for a second straight year in November and later finished third in the John B. Connally Turf Cup at Sam Houston Park as the odds-on favorite going 1 1/2 miles.

The San Marcos also serves as a barn barometer. D’Amato’s stablemate Thought Process fired a bullet five-furlong work in 58.80 seconds on the main track and is being pointed to the Buena Vista (G2) at a mile on turf on Feb. 28, giving the barn momentum across Santa Anita’s graded-stakes calendar.

For fans and owners, Gold Phoenix’s start represents more than a prep race; it tests the durability and late-career value of an established turf performer. A strong San Marcos showing would reinforce Gold Phoenix’s role as a high-end older turf horse and shape assignments for the spring campaign, while his San Marcos debut gives Santa Anita patrons a fresh matchup between seasoned grade performers and in-form rivals.