Phoenix Thoroughbreds on Kentucky Derby, Oaks Trails

Billed as an investment fund focused on Thoroughbred racing, Phoenix Thoroughbreds is off to a spectacular start with leading Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) candidate Dream Tree and Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) hopefuls Mourinho and Gronkowski from an initial group of just 12 horses.

Amer Abdulaziz, a native of Bahrain and resident of Dubai, is the man behind Phoenix Thoroughbreds, which made a giant splash at American and European auctions last year, spending more than $25 million as a new force at the top of the market.

The impact on the racetrack in the United States has been just as immediate, albeit with a small contingent to this point. From 10 starts in the U.S., Phoenix runners have racked up seven wins, highlighted by Dream Tree's victories in the grade 1 Starlet Stakes at Los Alamitos Race Course and grade 2 Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita Park and Mourinho's score last month in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Mourinho will be in the spotlight again at Oaklawn Jan. 19 as the potential favorite for the Southwest Stakes (G3), looking to match the 10 Derby qualifying points he earned in the Smarty Jones.

"Certainly, we could not be happier with the results so far," said Abdulaziz, CEO for the company formed in Luxemborg and registered in London. "I love horses. They are beautiful animals, and I have been around them all my life. But this is a business model, and America is the biggest market and is going to be our focus.

"To be in line for the Kentucky Oaks and, hopefully, the Kentucky Derby—those are the kind of races that are our targets, and so we have to be pleased to be in this position right away."

Abdulaziz and his family have long been involved with Arabian racing. He said he was exposed to the Thoroughbred game while attending the University of California at Berkeley, making the short jaunt to Golden Gate Fields for the races, and has been fascinated with the Thoroughbred industry. Abdulaziz and bloodstock adviser Kerri Radcliffe discussed his vision for a high-end stable for a number of years before the plan was set in motion last year with investors on board.

Within a few weeks at juvenile sales in Florida last March, Phoenix snatched up Mourinho, Dream Tree, and Diamondsandpearls, who landed an initial victory for the stable in impressive fashion at Santa Anita in July. Mourinho and Dream Tree also scored in their respective debuts, and Dream Tree quickly rose to the top of her division with three successive stakes triumphs, most recently prevailing by 3 3/4 lengths as a 3-10 favorite in the Feb. 4 Las Virgenes for trainer Bob Baffert. She is pointing for the April 7 Santa Anita Oaks (G1).

Mourinho broke through in the Jan. 15 Smarty Jones after finishing second in the Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita and Bob Hope Stakes (G3) at Del Mar late last year.

Phoenix's sleeper for the spring classics could be Gronkowski, who dominated two straight races on synthetic tracks in England for Radcliffe's husband, trainer Jeremy Noseda. Named after Rob Gronkowski, the ebullient star tight end for the New England Patriots, the colt is scheduled for a March 1 race at Kempton Park. The race is a potential new path to the Kentucky Derby, as part of a qualifying series launching this spring, with one carved-out spot for a European-based horse in the Derby's maximum field of 20.

"He is a brilliant horse, a lovely horse," Abdulaziz said. "We will give him another race (in England) to try and qualify him, and we will take it from there. If he runs well, he will definitely be going to America."

Story courtesy of America's Best Racing.