With three horses vying for favoritism in the five-horse, $200,0000 City of Hope Mile Stakes (G2T) Sept. 26 at Santa Anita Park, Cabo Spirit, the longest shot on the board at 7-1, eked out a slim victory over actual favorite El Potente.
Cabo Spirit enjoys setting the pace, and jockey Mike Smith let him go to the front right at the start of the 1-mile City of Hope over the local turf. King of Gosford, who had won back-to-back stakes during the Del Mar meeting, ranged up outside of him under the wire the first time, almost getting ahead for a moment.
Cabo Spirit set all of the fractions, posting :23.47 for the first quarter-mile and :46.91 for a half-mile. King of Gosford took another run at Cabo Spirit around the second turn, but Cabo Spirit rebuffed him. El Potente saw a wide-open rail and looked like he might collar Cabo Spirit, but the winner held him off, however, to score by a head over firm ground in 1:33.06. King of Gosford finished third.
"He is such a cool horse," Smith said. "He doesn't win all the time, but he always runs a winning race. I got away with a very easy first quarter for him. I thought I could get brave down the backside and let him run a little bit. I was able to give him a good breather around the turn. He deserves the win."
With the victory in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In event, Cabo Spirit earned an automatic, fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) Oct. 31 at Keeneland. He missed out on that last year, when he finished second in the City of Hope to Johannes .
George Papaprodromou trains Cabo Spirit for owner Kretz Racing.
"He's all heart, and that showed in how he won the race today," Papaprodromou said.
Cabo Spirit ($16.40), a 7-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile—Fancy Day, by Shamardal, won his seventh lifetime stakes. Agent Gayle Van Leer bought Cabo Spirit, bred by WinStar Farm, for Kretz from the Eddie Woods consignment to the 2021 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $575,000.
Video: City of Hope Mile S. (G2T)
Sorrento Sky Soars in Eddie D Stakes
Sorrento Sky made it back-to-back graded wins when he added Saturday's 6 1/2-furlong Eddie D Stakes (G2T) to his earlier victory in the Aug. 22 Green Flash Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar. He had not put together two consecutive wins since 2024, in allowance optional claiming company.
Sixth early under jockey Umberto Rispoli, 2-1 favorite Sorrento Sky was content to let 11-1 Amorita set the early pace coming down Santa Anita's hillside turf course. Amorita completed the first quarter-mile in :21.99 and was also responsible for the half-mile split of :43.76. That filly led into the stretch, while Sorrento Sky swung five wide as the field crossed the dirt. He closed ground and won by a length in 1:12.30 while racing down a firm hillside turf course. Sumter, who raced in fifth early, finished second, while Amorita hung on for third.
"He broke so good today," Rispoli said of his mount. "This horse has been unbelievable since he was gelded a year ago. He's a different horse."
Trainer Phil D'Amato agreed and added that Sorrento Sky "brought home the win today with a tremendous finish."
D'Amato trains Sorrento Sky, bred by Colleen Dwyer, for the Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT, McLean Racing Stables, Saul Gevertz, Marc Lantzman, and Michael Nentwig. A 5-year-old gelded son of Prince of Lir—Briarfield Lady, by Battle of Marengo, Sorrento Sky had become a stakes winner for the first time in the Green Flash. Before that, he had placed in five stakes races, including a third-place finish in the 2025 Eddie D Stakes, a race named after retired Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye.
Video: Eddie D S. (G2T)
Little Opal Scores in John C. Harris
Stepping up into the stakes ranks after two victories to begin her career against maiden and allowance company at Del Mar this summer, Donald Dizney's homebred Little Opal remained perfect with a front-running 1 1/4-length triumph over Day to Day in the $102,000 John C. Harris Stakes (G3T) for 3-year-old fillies.
Under Emisael Jaramillo, Little Opal grabbed the clear lead soon after the start and, after setting fractions of :22 and :44.34 in the about 6 1/2-furlong turf race down the hillside turf course, had enough to keep Day to Day at bay after the latter threatened in midstretch.
Day to Day ran on for second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Mo' Em Down in third.
Little Opal crossed the wire in a final time of 1:12.76, returning $4.40 for a $2 win wager.
Doug O'Neill trains the winner, a daughter of Caravaggio out of the Elusive Quality mare Il Mulino. Besides Little Opal, the dam's other two starters are winners, with one of them, Cucina (Northern Afleet), stakes-placed.
O'Neill thanked Dizney and the owner's manager at Double Diamond Farm, Garrett Smith, for the opportunity to train the speedy filly.
"When they sent her (from Florida), they sent her with a lot of accolades, and they were right on," he said.
The John C. Harris Stakes, run as the Unzip Me Stakes through 2024, was renamed in 2025 to honor the influential California owner and breeder, who died last summer.
"He was so great for our sport—the whole sport of horse racing—but especially California racing," O'Neill said.
