Barn Tour: Papaprodromou is off to a fast start at Santa Anita

Buoyed by new clients and some high-priced purchases, trainer George Papaprodromou has gotten off to a cracking start at the Santa Anita winter-spring meet.

Through the first eight days of racing, Papaprodromou has posted three wins from eight starts, including with the promising Cabo Spirit in the Eddie Logan Stakes on Jan. 2. The same day as winning the Eddie Logan, the barn also scored in an allowance with Grade 1-placed American Theorem, who is making noise on the comeback trail.

Last year, Papaprodromou had 11 winners during the entire six-month Santa Anita stand.

“We picked up some new owners at Del Mar and that has helped,” said the trainer, who typically has 25 to 30 horses stabled at Santa Anita. “But really it’s just that the horses are rounding into really good form. That’s pretty much it.”

Papaprodromou, a native of Cyprus in the Greek isles, started training in 2003. While without a Kentucky Derby starter, he has saddled four in the Breeders' Cup, the most recent coming in 2017, with none able to hit the board. Papaprodromou’s best year was also 2017, with more than $1.9 million in purse earnings.

With the promising start at Santa Anita, Horse Racing Nation caught up with the trainer to see what's next for his three recent Santa Anita winners. 

Cabo Spirit. Papaprodromou might have new owners in the fold, but it was longtime client Kretz Racing that went to new heights to secure this colt for $875,000 at a 2-year-olds in training sale last year. He is now the barn’s leading Kentucky Derby prospect.

By Pioneerof the Nile, Cabo Spirit made three mediocre starts on dirt last year before being switched to turf and graduating when stretched to a mile. He went on to finish a close third in the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) on turf at Del Mar before winning the Eddie Logan earlier this month.

Up next for Cabo Spirit is likely another go on the dirt in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis (G3) on Feb. 6, a points-paying prep for the Kentucky Derby.

“We kind of rushed him a little bit, or maybe not rushed him, but we ran him as a 2-year-old and obviously he wasn’t ready at the start,” Papaprodromou said. “But he’s been getting better day by day and is really starting to put it together.”

In the Eddie Logan, Cabo Spirit kindly sat off horses before accelerating in the lane to win clear by 1 1/4 lengths.

“What I like about this horse is he’s learning how to settle down a little bit, which is what you want,” Papaprodromou said. 

“Now I think we’ll give him one more shot on the dirt in the Lewis, just to make sure if he really is a dirt horse or not,” he added. “He has always trained well on it, and he worked the fastest quarter mile at the sale. So maybe now with the added time and more experience he’s ready for it. Why not take a shot?”

American Theorem. As a 2-year-old in 2019, he won his debut at Del Mar and came back to be second in the American Pharoah (G1). Then while preparing for that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, American Theorem developed sore shins that sent him to the sidelines. The same issues would remain a persistent problem for the next two years.

American Theorem made just one start in 2020 as a sophomore – a seventh in the Rebel (G2) in March – and one start last February before another stint on the bench. But since his return at Del Mar last November, American Theorem has been on an upward trajectory.

One race prior to Cabo Spirit’s win on Jan. 2 at Santa Anita, American Theorem was an easy gate-to-wire winner of an entry-level allowance going a mile on dirt in just his seventh career start.

Next up will be a long-awaited return to the graded-stakes ranks in the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita on Feb. 5.

“He’s still so lightly raced – I know he’s a 5-year-old now, but he’s still learning to run and now seems to keep getting better,” Papaprodromou said. “The way he won the other day impressed me. I mean the last sixteenth (of a mile), he just took off again. I thought he was going to get tired or something, but he just kept going.”

American Theorem is also owned by Rustin Kretz’s Kretz Racing.

Barristan The Bold. The 6-year-old English-bred gelding by Excelebration was Papaprodroumou’s third winner of the Santa Anita stand last Saturday when taking a 5 1/2-furlong starter allowance on turf and setting a course record. He was claimed by Papaprodromou and new client Rockingham Ranch last September for $32,000.

In three subsequent starts in the claiming ranks for his new connections, he earned only minor shares before emerging with last week’s course-record win.

“Last time out at Los Alamitos (on Dec. 12), he nearly got put over the fence. He got shut off pretty bad,” Papaprodromou noted. “But I wouldn’t say he’s better on turf, he just seems to be getting better with age.”

Prior to being claimed, Barristan the Bold competed in a pair of graded stakes in early 2021 for trainer Mark Glatt.

Papaprodromou said next up will be a date in the $70,000 Clockers’ Corner going six furlongs on turf on Jan. 22.