On a stakes-packed inaugural California Crown Day at Santa Anita, First Peace burst through on the rail to win the Eddie D (G2), Cabo Spirit stunned the John Henry Turf Championship (G2) at 24-1, and Toupie wired the Unzip Me S.
Eddie D (G2)
As the 1.90-1 favorite in the $753,000 Eddie D, First Peace might well have given his fans an anxious moment when he raced farther off the pace than usual. But Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith engineered the best passage along the rail, and the Mark Glatt trainee responded by delivering a new career high.
First Peace was reserved in eighth, as many as seven lengths behind early. Up front, pacesetting Fast Buck ripped an opening quarter in :21.64 on the firm downhill turf. After the half in :43.52, First Peace steadily improved into a contending position by the top of the lane.
Just enough of a seam materialized for him to squeeze through on the fence, and First Peace exploded past Fast Buck. The son of Funtastic cleared away by 1 1/2 lengths while finishing about 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:11.56.
Air Force Red was along for second, and King of Gosford edged Big Invasion for third. Fast Buck was relegated to fifth, followed by Johnny Podres, Two Rivers Over, Boss Sully, Noble Reflection, Eamonn, and Step Forward.
Rancho Temescal, Red Baron’s Barn, and Rodney Orr’s First Peace sports a mark of 15-5-5-2, $778,520. The gray has yet to finish out of the exacta in six appearances over the Eddie D course and distance.
Several of his previous stakes credits came in these conditions — a win in the 2023 John Shear S. and a near-miss next time in the Desert Code S., along with half-length seconds in the April 21 Siren Lure S. and May 26 Daytona (G3).
First Peace is also effective at a mile, as illustrated by his victory in the July 21 Wickerr S. But his recent sixth in the Del Mar Mile (G2) prompted a shortening up to his pet scenario.
Bred by Christopher L. Baker and Mullikin Thoroughbreds in Kentucky, First Peace was produced by the Point of Entry mare Peace Opportunity. This is the family of Grade 2 scorers Tower of Texas and Street Sounds, descending from multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire Sabin.
John Henry Turf Championship (G2)
Winless since the 2022 Twilight Derby (G2), Cabo Spirit looked like a different animal on the step up to 1 1/4 miles in the $753,000 John Henry. The longer distance allowed for a much softer pace scenario, and the George Papaprodromou veteran took advantage under an enterprising Abel Cedillo.
Cabo Spirit got away with splits of :25.13, :50.43, and 1:15.13. Dicey Mo Chara sat in an attending second, but couldn’t keep pace when the leader began to ratchet it up. Breaking away from the pack at the mile mark in 1:39.06, Cabo Spirit threw in a final quarter in a superb :22.20 to cross the wire one length up in 2:01.26.
Aside from rewarding his loyalists with a $51.20 payout, Cabo Spirit pocketed the $450,000 winner’s check to become a millionaire. His bankroll now stands at $1,035,336.
In light of the race shape, it’s not surprising that the minor awards went to horses who raced within striking range early and that deep closers were up against it.
There Goes Harvard headed fellow stalker Master Piece for second, and Dicey Mo Chara was a close fourth. Gold Phoenix fared best of those trying to rally from farther back, advancing into fifth. Next came Divin Propos, Seven Wonders, Big Blue Line, Rockemperor, Balnikhov, and El Encinal, who has failed to replicate his Argentine form stateside.
Kretz Racing’s Cabo Spirit has compiled a record of 27-5-3-6. Among the notable divisional players early in his career, the Pioneerof the Nile gelding won the Eddie Logan S., La Jolla H. (G3), and Twilight Derby in 2022. He even experimented on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail, finishing a remote second to Messier in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) and sixth in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3), before ultimately reverting to turf.
Cabo Spirit found life tougher as an older horse, but he did place third in the 2023 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1) and Lure S. His other stakes placings include the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) as a juvenile, the California Derby, and the Cinema S. during his most productive sophomore season.
Bred by WinStar Farm in Kentucky, Cabo Spirit was sold for $575,000 as an OBS juvenile in his last public auction appearance. The five-year-old is out of the Shamardal mare Fancy Day, from the family of Hall of Famer Tiznow, Oxbow, Paynter, and current Grade 1 queen Sweet Azteca.
Unzip Me S.
Wertheimer et Frere’s homebred Toupie took to Santa Anita’s downhill turf course like a natural with a frontrunning coup in the $102,500 Unzip Me for sophomore fillies.
Trainer Graham Motion believed that the daughter of Uncle Mo would prefer having a more elongated sprint than she can find back East. Bettors agreed, sending her off as the even-money favorite, and she ratified that judgment with enthusiasm.
Under Flavien Prat, Toupie sped to the lead through fractions of :21.76 and :44.05, fluently navigated the dirt crossing, and maintained her momentum in a 1 1/2-length decision. She reeled off about 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:11.94 to earn her third stakes victory.
Longshots filled the rest of the superfecta. The 18-1 Queen Maxima closed stoutly for second, with the 30-1 Alluring in third and the 28-1 Omaha Girl placing fourth.
Zona Verde, the 2.80-1 second choice, broke last after tossing her head in the gate. The Phil D’Amato pupil did well to get up for fifth in the 10-horse field.
Toupie has earned $302,775 from her 9-4-2-1 line. As a juvenile last season, the dark bay captured the Stewart Manor S. at Aqueduct, finished runner-up to the colt No Nay Mets in the Rosie’s S. at Colonial Downs, and wound up third in the Sandpiper S. on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt. Her only poor effort was a 10th trying a route in the Jessamine (G2).
Hitherto in her 2024 campaign, Toupie had stuck to 5 1/2-furlong turf sprints with mixed results. She was a comeback second in the May 11 Mamzelle S. at Churchill Downs, rolled by daylight in the June 16 Stormy Blues S. at Laurel, and checked in fourth in the July 12 Coronation Cup at Saratoga in her latest.
