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WHEN I
learned that Ruben Laureano’s prized galloper Irene’s
Fantasy will be running in a major stakes late last
month, I didn’t wink twice when I told Ruben that his
horse would certainly win.
We were
together at lunch hosted by our kumpadre Nery
Sunga a few days before Christmas when trainer Dave de
la Cruz, also a kumpadre who sat beside me,
announced that they will be competing in the Santa Ana
Park Grand Championship Race on December 31. We haven’t
seen the complete list of official runners at that time
yet but I told Ruben, who was at the other end of the
table, that his horse is the horse to beat in the event.
Late
last week, many were surprised to see a bevy of stellar
names that registered in the P690,000 main event
sponsored by the Philippine Racing Club. They were
Copper Dew, Wild Orchid, Real Spicy, Drama Belle, Fairy
Queen and Irene’s Fantasy (who became the automatic long
shot in the sales).
A few
hours before the race, I called up Ruben and assured him
that his horse has a big chance of pulling off a hat
trick. “Sana nga pare makaraos,” was all he said. I
wasn’t able to watch that event but a few hours later,
somebody called me up and told me that Irene’s Fantasy
had won.
“Nakatsamba
tayo pare! Dehado sa lahat!” said the overjoyed
Ruben over the phone later in the evening as they were
driving home to catch up with the preparation for the
New Year’s eve celebration.
Yes,
Irene’s Fantasy beat a list of popular names in the
local racing scene and she did with a bang, so to speak.
Her time of one minute and 51 seconds in the 1,800-meter
distance reset the record of 1:52 posted by Real Spicy
in last year’s Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom)
Commissioners’ Cup on the same track. Ridden by jockey
Jesse Guce (yes, the same rider who booted home the
winners in the Presidential Gold Cup (aboard Tony Tan’s
Native Land) and the rich Grand Presidential Derby
(onboard Nery Sunga’s Es twenty Six), Irene’s Fantasy
won the top prize of P500,000 as she bowed out of 2007
with a sterling performance. With the victory, Irene’s
Fantasy improved her 17th position in the overall horse
standings and she will probably barge into the Top 10
when the Philracom comes out with the year’s best
performers for 2007 in the next few days.
Back to
the race, Drama Belle (the four-year-old mare owned by
Joseph Dyhenco which snatched the rich P4-million Amb.
Danding Cojuangco Cup several weeks back) checked in
second for P120,000, while Real Spicy was third for
P70,000. Other finishers included Copper Dew, Wild
Orchid and Fairy Queen.
Irene’s
Fantasy’s victory completed a rare triple by the
so-called Foreign Exchange-connection. It was Nery
Sunga’s Es Twenty Six who started the roll when she won
the P6-million Grand Presidential Derby followed by Joe
Arceo’s Lucky Joe victory in the P1-million Yearend
Invitation and Ruben Laureano’s Irene’s Fantasy
punctuated it in the Santa Ana Park Grand Championship
Race.
WHILE we
are awaiting Philracom to release the list of top
performers in the local racing scene last year, I was
amazed with the very swift way the United States’ top
leaders were announced recently.
I read
the news when I glossed over my e-mail right after the
New Year’s eve celebration and there they were the top
money-makers of 2007 in the North American racing
circuit, based on the Equibase listing (the US
thoroughbred industry’s official database for racing
information). Don’t you think our authorities start
doing this thing here?
Curlin,
the horse I followed ever since he started his
three-year-old career, topped the thoroughbred division
with a career earnings of $5,102,800. Street Sense was
second with $3,205,000, while third placer English
Channel had $2,640,000.
The
powerhouse Stronach Stables is the leading North
American owner with whopping earnings of $7,076,138 from
128 victories in 537 starts. Runner-up was Zayat
Stables, which won 98 races from 521 starts for earnings
of $6,171,916, while the others in the Top 10 were
Stonestreet Stables, Padua Stables, George Bolton and
Midnight Cry Stables, $5,080,000 (five wins/eight
starts); Maggi Moss, $4,225,437 (196/725); Ken and Sarah
Ramsey, $3,996,973 (106/380); Melnyk Racing Stables,
$3,967,399 (69/360); Live Oak Plantation, $3,805,416
(54/293); Heiligbrodt Racing Stable, $3,792,466
(95/515); Fox Hill Farms, $3,705,486 (38/162); and Jim
Tafel, $3,655,913 (17/103).
The
popular Todd Pletcher is still the mighty trainer for
the record fourth straight year with earnings of
$28,111,697 that simply surpassed his last year’s record
earnings of P26.82 million. Pletcher-trained horses won
289 races from 1,228 starts last year. Steve Asmussen
finished second with earnings of $23,898,844 from 488
wins and 2,273 starts.Completing the list of top 10
trainers by North American earnings in 2007 were Robert
Frankel, $12,168,647 (123 wins/566 starts); Doug
O’Neill, $10,156,219 (152/1,046); William Mott,
$9,949,267 (156/774); Scott Lake, $9,724,556
(485/2,345); Richard Dutrow Jr., $9,604,524 (166/659);
Kiaran McLaughlin, $9,305,403 (118/524); Gary Contessa,
$7,597,499 (176/1,230); and Jerry Hollendorfer,
$7,309,698 (244/1,012).
It was
jockey Garrett Gomez who snatched the North American
leading jockeys’ list for a second consecutive year with
total earnings of $22,800,074 after riding 265 winners
from 1,258 mounts. Robby Albarado finished second, with
253 wins from 1,260 mounts and earnings of $19,399,249
while others in the Top 10, were John Velazquez,
$18,059,713 (199 wins/1,128 mounts); Cornelio Velasquez,
$15,997,913 (262/1,619); Rafael Bejarano, $15,892,188
(241/1,469); Ramon Dominguez, $15,328,920 (319/1,332);
Eibar Coa, $14,237,059 (285/1,628); Edgar Prado,
$13,662,743 (207/1,117); Javier Castellano, $12,551,303
(168/1,107); and Julien Leparoux, $12,188,975
(261/1,404). |
