Gold Phoenix © Benoit Photo
Trainer Phil D’Amato is always good when it comes to a stakes race on the grass, especially at Del Mar. But the five-time shore training champ outdid himself Sunday at turf and surf central when he saddled the first four finishers in the $252,000 Eddie Read Stakes, a Grade II turfer that went at a mile and one-eighth.
Leading the D’Amato parade was a chestnut gelding named Gold Phoenix, who is owned by the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify. Hot-riding Hector Berrios was aboard the Irish-bred son of Belardo as he cruised to a three-quarter length triumph in 1:48.62. The winner paid $11 and picked up a first-place purse of $150,000 to push his career earnings to $837,757.
Next in line came Little Red Feather, Madaket Stables and Old Bones Racing Stable’s Balnikhov, who had a half length on Rockingham Ranch’s Masteroffoxhounds. The fourth D’Amato runner was the race favorite, Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm’s veteran Count Again, who went off at 9-5 and finished two and a quarter lengths behind the winner.
Del Mar veteran observers could not recall another occurrence at the track where one trainer saddled the first four finishers in a major stakes race.
This was D’Amato’s fourth victory in the Eddie Read. It was rider Berrios’s first.
D’Amato took over the lead in the trainers’ race with three wins on the day to total nine firsts through the first seven days of racing. Berrios also won three races on the afternoon and moved into a tie with Juan Hernandez with 11 victories apiece.
In the track’s popular Pick Six, which was run today under “mandatory payout” conditions, bettors poured in $3,057,176 into the pool that pushed the total prize to $3,441,665.
When the 11th and final race on the day was run, the numbers said there were 171 winners who picked all six and each of them picked up a payout of $15,915.
Racing will resume at Del Mar on Thursday with a first post of 2 p.m.
HECTOR BERRIOS (Gold Phoenix, winner) – “I took my time; I knew I had a lot of horse. As it turned out, I got the perfect trip. The pace was slow; I could tell. But that was OK. I waited and I waited and then I asked. And when I did – boom! He was a runner.”
PHIL D’AMATO (Gold Phoenix, winner) – “I think I’ve come in 1, 2, 3 but I don’t ever recall coming in 1, 2, 3, 4. I love this race, the Eddie Read, it’s been very good to me over the years. We’ve won it with some very nice horses and it’s special to win it again. When I saw those early fractions it explained why he was closer in mid spot there. Hector knew when to make his move. He’s riding really well right now and you could see from the great ride he gave Gold Phoenix.”
FRACTIONS: :24.54 :49.20 1:13.07 1:36.73 1:48.62
The stakes win was the third of the meet for both rider Berrios and trainer D’Amato.
The stakes win was the seventh in a stakes at Del Mar for Berrios, but his first in the Eddie Read.
The stakes win was the 47th in a stakes at Del Mar for D’Amato and his fourth in the Eddie Read.
The winning owners are Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables and Marsha Naify.