O Besos

In his second start, on Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds, O Besos broke his maiden in a 5 1/2 furlong dirt race. He broke slowly, and fell well behind a fast pace. On the turn, he moved up after the leaders, and drew away to a 5 1/2 length win. Next out, on Jan. 17, he took a first-level allowance by 2 1/4 lengths, once again coming from off the pace. 

O Besos won a photo for fourth in his stakes debut, the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 13. In doing so, he earned five points on the Road to the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.

In his next start, O Besos was third in the Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby on Mar. 20. He rated in last place early on, then closed from behind. For that performance, O Besos earned twenty more qualifying points.

In the Derby, O Besos went off at 40-1, and closed to finish fifth, in the first Kentucky Derby mount for jockey Marcelino Pedroza. After a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes on May 29, O Besos went to the sidelines for the next several months.

After returning to the worktab in early November, O Besos made his 4-year-old debut in a second-level allowance optional claiming race at Fair Grounds on Jan. 2, 2022. He battled with Intrepid Heart in the stretch and prevailed by a nose, for his first victory in almost a year.