D'Amato Quartet Look Tough in the Kilroe Mile

Trainer Phil D'Amato has a strong hand with four of the nine entries for the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T) March 4 at Santa Anita and has an eye well beyond that race—all the way to the Breeders' Cup World Championships in November.

Two of D'Amato's charges, Hong Kong Harry  and Gold Phoenix , are coming off layoffs. Masteroffoxhounds  and Balnikhov  have been running through the winter.

Hong Kong Harry, a lightly raced 6-year-old gelding by Es Que Love , has won five of six starts since arriving in D'Amato's barn from his British trainer, Richard Fahey. He went off for a three-month break after rallying to win the Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) Nov. 26 at 1 1/16 miles at Del Mar by a neck and a head over Beyond Brilliant  and stablemate Masteroffoxhounds.

After that effort, jockey Flavien Prat, who is back aboard for the Kilroe Mile, pronounced Hong Kong Harry "a good horse. I think he might be a grade I horse off this race."

D'Amato upped the ante on that.

"He's got really good on us," the trainer said. "We're starting him off here with the Breeders' Cup (Mile) (G1T) in mind."

Gold Phoenix, D'Amato said, is "doing fantastic" in preparation for his return from a 10th-place finish as a long shot in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). He said the Kilroe, well short of the 5-year-old's optimum distance, is intended as a prep for the Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T) at 1 1/4 miles on April 8 and a potential Breeders' Cup rematch of his own.

That's not to count out the son of Belardo , who won his only previous one-mile turf start 11 months ago over the Santa Anita greensward.

"Good horses, especially fresh, can overcome a lot," D'Amato said.

Masteroffoxhounds, a 6-year-old entire son of War Front  , has struggled at longer distances, consistently coughing up the lead in the late going against top company. In his last start, Masteroffoxhounds was nailed on the line in the 1 1/4-mile San Marcos Stakes (G3T) Feb. 5—a race he won in 2021.

John Velazquez signed on to pilot Masteroffoxhounds for the first time with blinkers added.

"He always fires," D'Amato said of Masteroffoxhounds. "I like what I see with the blinkers keeping his mind on business."

Balnikhov, a 4-year-old by Adaay , finished second as the favorite in his last start, the Mathis Mile Stakes (G2T) on Santa Anita's opening day program, and D'Amato called him "a horse on the improve. He's training very well."

With at least some of the Kilroe horses, and more in the companion Buena Vista Stakes (GT2) for fillies and mares, being eyed for potential Breeders' Cup assignments, D'Amato said the fact the big races return to Santa Anita in November plays a role in his planning.

"It definitely doesn't hurt to have the races in your backyard," he said. "You don't have to ship to Keeneland or Churchill Downs to see how they might run on that turf. But by the same token, there are some nice races on the grass back in Kentucky so I'm not saying we won't be there at some point."

A few others in the Kilroe have gaping holes in their resumes.

Du Jour , second in the Thunder Road Stakes, was away from the races for all of 2022 after competing with some success in the big-money New York turf races in 2021. The rare turf horse in the Bob Baffert barn showed no signs of rust while finishing second in the Thunder Road in his comeback from the 13-month layoff.

Irideo  won a grade I in his native land in 2020 but then missed all of 2021. He had only one win from eight starts in 2022 for trainer Marcelo Polanco.

Trainer Richard Mandella brings Royal Ship  back from a five-month layoff and puts him on the grass for the first time since March of 2021, when he finished fifth, beaten just a length, in the Kilroe Mile. Before heading to the sidelines, he was running against the likes of Flightline  , Country Grammer , and Defunded  in grade I dirt races.

Completing the lineup are Air Force Red , a close third in the Thunder Road, and Cabo Spirit , briefly on the Triple Crown trail in 2022 before winning the Twilight Derby (G2T) at 1 1/8 mile Oct. 29.