Three-time Group One winner California Spangle has been retired, with the swashbuckling front runner signing off after 13 wins from 34 starts and an imposing HK$83,796,256 in prize money.

After turning heads with some blistering sprint performances as a Griffin, California Spangle went onto claim the Classic Cup (1,800m) as a four-year-old while also running second to Romantic Warrior in the Classic Mile and Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) in 2022.

Owned by the Liang family, California Spangle broke through at the top level with a thrilling Group One Hong Kong Mile victory over the great Golden Sixty later that same year.

While California Spangle’s big early wins came under Zac Purton, it was Brenton Avdulla who was in the saddle as Tony Cruz’s star galloper enjoyed a resurgence as a sprinter with victories in last year’s Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) and Dubai’s Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m).

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“He was a superstar from the very beginning. It was fun training him because there was a lot of happiness and excitement with him,” said Cruz of a horse who reached a career-high ranking of 130.

“He was a record-breaker right from the start in Griffin races at 1,000m [and] 1,200m. Then he broke the track record for 1,200m in Dubai as well. He was such an easy horse to train, too. You could do anything with him.

“He was a very exciting horse. No matter how fast you wanted to go, he could give it to you.

“Now, it’s the end of the road for him, we’ll keep him healthy and, if he’s allowed to, he can then go to Living Legends in Australia. For the Liang family and myself, he’s had an amazing career.”

California Spangle did hold an entry for the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) on April 27, with his retirement opening the door for reserve Gorgeous Win to get a run in the feature.

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