Cabo Spirit scores front-running upset in John Henry

ARCADIA, Calif. – Cabo Spirit figured to make the lead in a paceless Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship on Saturday at Santa Anita. But could the longshot stay 1 1/4 miles?

Yes, he could.

Cabo Spirit ($51.20) popped the gate under jockey Abel Cedillo, slowed the pace to a crawl, and wired the field to give trainer George Papaprodromou his second consecutive upset victory in the John Henry. He won it last year with Balladeer at 6.50-1.

This year’s John Henry was worth a lot more. Santa Anita owner 1/ST Racing increased the purse from $200,000 to $750,000. It drew a field of 11, but none of the runners had speed. None except Cabo Spirit, and Papaprodromou knew it.

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“I thought it would be an easy spot to run him,” the trainer said. “He might get an easy lead, there was no speed in the race.”

Papaprodromou gave simple instructions to his rider – make the lead. “That was the plan,” Cedillo said. “I broke sharp, and as soon as I made the lead, I tried to put them to sleep.”

A half-mile in 50.43 seconds on a course that began downhill is a snooze-fest. After six furlongs in 1:15.13 it was only a question of if Cabo Spirit could stay. He did, winning by a length over There Goes Harvard, while earning a 97 Beyer Speed Figure. Master Piece finished third; Dicey Mo Chara finished fourth. The top four finishers were positioned 1-2-3-4 and benefitted from the race flow.

Divin Propos, the 2-1 favorite, finished sixth; a half-length behind fifth-place finisher Gold Phoenix. They were late-runners that effectively had no chance.

Cabo Spirit earned $450,000 to nearly double his career earnings to $1,035,336. Papaprodromou did not say immediately if the 5-year-old gelding would be considered for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Unzip Me Stakes

Earlier in race 5, East Coast shipper Toupie ($4) wired the $102,500 Unzip Me Stakes, a downhill turf sprint for 3-year-old fillies. Toupie popped the gate under jockey Flavien Prat, coasted on the lead and won by a length and one-half over Queen Maxima. Alluring finished third.

Graham Motion trains Toupie, who will remain on turf, though she has a win and a third on dirt. “I don’t think she’s the same [on dirt],” Motion said. “She’s really a grass filly. And it makes no sense she’s a sprinter. The family’s all stamina, so go figure.”

The win by Toupie was her second in a stakes, as she won the Stormy Blues at Laurel in June. Toupie, owned and bred by Wertheimer and Freire, is now 4 for 9. She has earned $302,775.

Zona Verde, 2.80-1 second favorite in the Unzip Me, split the field after trailing early.

Dreamfyre was scratched. A multiple graded stakes winner last year, Dreamfyre would have been making her first start since she the pace and finished ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last year. Dreamfyre’s trainer O. J. Jauregui said he “did not like the one-hole” for the Unzip Me. Jauregui said Dreamfyre is fine physically.

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