Spirited Sol wins Karl Boyes Stakes at Presque Isle Downs

Spirited Sol kept proving there is still room for old hands in summer sprint stakes, drawing clear by 3 lengths in the Karl Boyes Stakes at Presque Isle Downs and covering 6 furlongs in 1:10.38 over a fast all-weather track. Martina Rojas rode the 8-year-old gelding to the $60,000 winner’s share of the $99,500 race, turning back Victory Achieved with Horsepower another neck back in third.

The win mattered because this was not a soft spot or a lightly raced horse finding his level. Spirited Sol, by Soldat out of Spirited Storm, now owns a lifetime record of 32 starts, 5 wins, 10 seconds and 6 thirds with $262,648 in earnings. He had already shown some current form in 2026 with one win from two starts, and this victory gave him his first stakes score since a second-level $40,000 optional claiming race at Presque Isle in May 2024.

For a race in its 20th edition, the Karl Boyes once again brought together the sort of seasoned horses that make Presque Isle’s sprint program so competitive. The 2026 field was billed as one that included a Breeders’ Cup champion, the track’s all-time record holder at 6 furlongs, last year’s winner and a stakes-placed runner from Canada. Yo Banana Boy was scratched, leaving seven runners, but Spirited Sol still had to run through a useful group and did it without needing a photo.

The result also fit the profile of a horse whose background suggests versatility and durability. Soldat was a Grade 2 and Grade 3 winner with success on turf and synthetic, and Spirited Sol has built his own career around consistency on different surfaces. That matters at Presque Isle, where the all-weather track often rewards horses that can settle into a rhythm and finish the job cleanly rather than flash briefly and fade.

The race also added another Florida connection to the winner’s circle. The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association said Spirited Sol was bred in Florida by Tag Stables, which will receive a $4,000 Export Incentive check for the out-of-state stakes win. Equibase lists Winterhawk Farm as the owner, Kimberly DePasquale as trainer and Rojas as the rider.

The Karl Boyes remains one of Presque Isle’s recurring summer stakes, named for former Pennsylvania state representative Karl Boyes, whose local legacy also lives on through the Karl Boyes Multipurpose Trail in Erie County. Compared with Horsepower’s 1:08.84 win in the 2025 renewal, Spirited Sol’s clocking was slower, but the performance still looked like the work of a horse who knows exactly how to win when the placement is right.