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.

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.