When Agave Racing Stable's Mark Martinez bought a 25% interest in Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) at the 2024 Keeneland Championship Sale, he figured his realistic, best-case scenario was a fun run in the Breeders' Cup Turf and, if the racing gods were feeling generous, a couple more starts for the trusty veteran at age seven.Turns out, the star gelding wasn't going anywhere.Since Martinez joined the partnership, the now 8-year-old turf router has captured five graded stakes, etched his name in the record books as the first horse in Del Mar's history to win six stakes there, and now, enters the weekend eyeing a fifth consecutive victory in the GII Del Mar Handicap. “I don't know about anybody else, but my crystal ball doesn't have that kind of clarity,” Martinez said with a laugh. “So yeah, I'm just fortunate to be here.”A maiden winner at Dundalk back in February of 2021, Gold Phoenix was brought over to California a year later by the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables LLC and Marsha Naify. Under the tutelage of Phil d'Amato, the chestnut raced to his first graded win that summer in the 2022 Del Mar Handicap and then scored his first–and so far, only–Grade I victory in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes the following spring.By the time the 2024 Breeders' Cup rolled around, Gold Phoenix's resume boasted six graded stakes wins and 14 placings from 22 starts. Ahead of the world championship meet, the connections decided to offer a 25% share of the horse at the inaugural Keeneland Championship Sale at Del Mar.“I had talked to a bunch of people and tried to say, 'Hey, this horse isn't slowing down,' but it's kind of tough to sell a 6-year-old gelding,” said Billy Koch, the founder and managing partner of Little Red Feather. “When I learned they were putting on this first-ever, pre-Breeders' Cup sale, we said we'd take a shot.”Martinez was immediately intrigued. Having partnered with Little Red Feather before and already keeping a string with D'Amato, he'd been admiring the horse from afar for years.“I thought it was a great opportunity,” he recalled. “Now, some people probably saw it differently because he was a 6-year-old gelding at the time and obviously there's not a residual play here, so you've got to run it out on the track. Keeneland did a wonderful job. I didn't know that I would get him, but I knew it would take the right kind of buyer.”Three days after securing the share for $125,000, Martinez was cheering his new acquisition home to a fourth-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. Crossing the wire behind superstar Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and two Japanese contenders, Gold Phoenix finished best of the American contingent.From there, the gelding's love affair with Del Mar only deepened. Last summer, he scored an unprecedented fourth straight win in the GII Del Mar Handicap before putting in another honest fifth-place effort in his fourth consecutive Breeders' Cup appearance. In his most recent start this year, after collecting a pair of graded wins at Santa Anita, he returned to Del Mar for the GII Eddie Read Stakes.Mark Martinez at the 2024 Keeneland Championship Sale | KeenelandAn enthusiastic crowd of partners packed the winner's circle after Gold Phoenix rallied from the back of the field to nail front-running Cabo Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile) and odds-on favorite Formidable Man (City of Light) by a nose in a dramatic photo finish.“I'm a handicapper and I didn't think he had a shot at beating Formidable Man,” Koch admitted. “I thought we could if everything worked out perfectly, and it kind of did. We have a lot of respect for everybody in that division. We've run against them all and they've beaten us and we've beaten them. But this old warrior knows where the finish line is. If you really watch closely at the last 200 yards of the race and watch Gold Phoenix's head, he's reaching for the wire. It was incredible. It's something you just don't see.”The victory also secured Gold Phoenix's place in history in becoming the first horse to win six stakes races at the seaside oval.“That's obviously a big record, but the one I just can't get over is that he's won four straight Del Mar Handicaps,” said Martinez. “I don't know how that record ever gets beaten. I mean, who's going to win five? Other than maybe him, if we're so fortunate this year.”As Gold Phoenix prepares for his next Del Mar Handicap appearance this weekend, his connections believe he is primed for another strong showing. Hector Berrios, his regular rider this year, retains the mount and Gold Phoenix has drawn post position four in the 11-horse field. “He's obviously running well,” said Martinez. “The only blemish on his record this year was the race on Derby day, the GI Turf Classic Stakes. He was loaded and you can see Hector had a ton of horse. He had an awful trip. Then in the GIII San Juan Capistrano, I don't think he could have won any more visibly impressive.”Gold Phoenix will likely follow the same path he has in past years of going from Del Mar to the GII John Henry Turf Championship Stakes before making his fifth Breeders' Cup bid. The multi-millionaire has raced only once at Keeneland, finishing 10th at the 2022 Breeders' Cup, but as Koch says, “he might be better at eight than he was at four.”Ahead of this year's Breeders' Cup, Martinez said he will have his eye on the Keeneland Championship Sale, hoping lightning might just strike twice.“I'm a big proponent of this sale,” he explained. “Stories like this show, 'Well here's a guy that bought 25% in a 6-year-old gelding. He's won five graded stakes with him. He's long out financially and way in from the fun and pleasure perspective.'”“When Keeneland does something, it's first class,” added Koch. “And they've got a success story here. The timing was right and we appreciate Keeneland for bringing buyers to the table.”Under California rules, Thoroughbreds can compete until age 10. Koch isn't promising Gold Phoenix's return next year, but as long as the gelding is still loving his job, they'll keep letting their turf warrior dictate the terms.“It's pretty wild to be associated with a horse like this,” said Koch. “You think of the great geldings of all time, the John Henrys and Funny Cides of the world. Just to be mentioned with some of those horses is something really special.”The post Keeneland Case Study: Mark Martinez Is “Just Fortunate To Be Here” with Gold Phoenix appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.