Change in tactics benefits Cabo Spirit in Twilight Derby victory

ARCADIA, Calif. - A slow pace hampered Cabo Spirit in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 3. He closed from last of nine in the final furlong, but finished fifth that day.

The Grade 2 Twilight Derby at Santa Anita on Saturday had an even slower pace. This time, jockey Joe Bravo had Cabo Spirit closer to the front, and well positioned behind the leaders with a quarter-mile remaining.

The slight change in tactics was vital. Cabo Spirit rallied between rivals to win his second graded stakes in the $201,500 Twilight Derby.

“I was proud of the guy,” Bravo said.

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Cabo Spirit ($7.40) won by a half-length over 2-1 favorite Speaking Scout, who led in the stretch.

Go Joe Won, the winner of the Shared Belief Stakes on dirt at Del Mar on Sept. 3, set a slow pace of 25.07 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 49.89 for a half-mile in the Twilight Derby. By comparison, the half-mile fraction in the Del Mar Derby was 48.77 seconds.

In the Twilight Derby, Bravo had Cabo Spirit in fifth place in a field of eight at the end of the backstretch, about two lengths behind Go Joe Won. Turning into the stretch, Bravo moved Cabo Spirit to the outside and rallied between Speaking Scout and Degree of Risk to take the lead.

“We were laying so close to the pace,” Bravo said. “The times explained why we were so close.”

Cabo Spirit was timed in 1:49.46 for 1 1/8 miles on turf and earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 88.

Speaking Scout, the winner of the Hawthorne Derby on Oct. 1, finished second, 1 3/4 lengths in front of 4-1 Perfect Flight, who was in contention with a furlong remaining but could not sustain the effort.

Speaking Scout was third on the turn and looked poised to win under jockey Juan Hernandez before Cabo Spirit rallied.

“He made a good move when I asked him,” Hernandez said. “He passed the horses in front of him.

“The other horse is a good horse, too,” Hernandez said of the winner. “He has a bigger kick.”

Go Joe Won and Handy Dandy finished in a dead-heat for fourth, followed by Degree of Risk, Stayincotai, and Seven Wonders.

The race changed significantly a few minutes before post time when War At Sea was withdrawn on veterinarian advice. War At Sea was the 2-1 favorite at the time.

Cabo Spirit, a gelding by Pioneerof the Nile, has won 4 of 14 starts and earned $438,560 for Rustin Kretz and trainer George Papaprodromou.

Purchased for $575,000 at a 2-year-olds in-training sale in 2021, Cabo Spirit won the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap at Del Mar on Aug. 7 in his first start after he was gelded in June.

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