Cabo Spirit

Cabo Spirit was well-beaten in his first three career starts, all on dirt in southern California, but showed improvement when switched to turf by trainer George Papaprodromou, finishing second in a six-furlong grass sprint at Santa Anita Park in October 2021. He then broke his maiden in a one-mile Del Mar turf race on Nov. 7, and finished the year with a close third-place effort in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes on turf later that month.

The son of Pioneerof the Nile started his 3-year-old season with a sharp 1 ¼-length win in the listed Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita, but he was then moved back to dirt for a pair of tries in Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve prep races, finishing second behind Messier in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (earning four Derby qualifying points) and then fifth in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes. He was next shipped to Turfway Park for a final try in a Derby prep, but finished a well-beaten sixth in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Turfway’s synthetic main track.

Back in California, Cabo Spirit finished third by a neck in the California Derby on Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic track and then returned to turf and finished second by three-quarters of a length in the listed Cinema Stakes at Santa Anita. He was then gelded and brought to Del Mar for a start in the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 7. With Joe Bravo in the irons for a fourth consecutive start, Cabo Spirit made a swift rally into contention at the top of the stretch and was all out to hold off longshot Perfect Flight by a half-length in the final strides to pick up his second stakes win.

Following a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 3, Cabo Spirit rebounded with another victory on Oct. 29 in the Grade 2 $200,000 Twilight Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf. After laying near the rear of an eight-horse field for much of the race, Cabo Spirit steered around traffic at the top of the stretch to launch his rally, which ended with him driving to the lead in the late stages for a half-length win in a time of 1:49.46.

Owned by Kretz Racing, Kentucky-bred Cabo Spirit is out of the winning Shamardal mare Fancy Day and is a half-brother to stakes-placed Convention. His second dam, Grade 2 winner Tizdubai, is a full sister to Hall of Famer and 2000 Horse of the Year Tiznow.