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A
LUCKY racing aficionado certainly whooped it up when he
was declared solo winner of the rich first set of the
winner-take-all (WTA) event last Sunday at the San
Lazaro Leisure Park (SLLP).
He
certainly became an instant millionaire when he went
home P4,825,323 richer after he single-handedly picked
all the seven winning horses in the WTA that had a
carry-over amount of more than P1 million.
The
actual sales zoomed up to P5,835,411 simply because of
the added attraction of P1-million carry-over from
Saturday’s WTA. Only three top choices pulled through
while four long shots dominated the said event.
The
three favorites included Manhatta, Grand Fiesta and Sun
Coast while the long shots were Gold Is Gold, Krizza’s
Magic, Dato’s Pride and Master King, which masterfully
beat the outstanding favorite Empire King.
That
P4.8 million seemed to stand out as this year’s biggest
payout to a single winner in the WTA and might even be
in the history of the WTA in the country. Anyway,
congratulations to that solo winner! Ang galing mo!
***
SPEAKING of upsets last Sunday, one outstanding favorite
which received a beating was Defiant, which was the 2006
Juvenile champion
Ridden by jockey Val Dilema, Defiant, the upset winner
in the rich 2006 Philippine Racing Commission Juvenile
Championship, suddenly jumped right after the gates
opened and lost the necessary momentum to catch up with
the leaders in the last stages of the races.
Spanish Drums was a runaway winner after leading right
from the start followed by Magic Key, while the
outstanding favorite Defiant checked in a dismal third.
That could have sparked the trend for the day when long
shots prevailed in some of the 13 races that were
disputed.
Defiant is touted as one of the strongest contenders in
this year’s Triple Crown Championship Series and many
were surprised when she is disposed to prep this early.
The Triple Crown Championship this year is three months
away and we have received reports that former Juvenile
colts and fillies who have gone to the farm in Batangas
for the necessary vacation are now being prepared for
shipment to Manila to start prepping up in various
regular races.
Yes,
the first leg of the Triple Crown Championship Series
will be held on May 20 at the Santa Ana Park, while the
SLLP hosts the second and third legs on June 24 and July
22, respectively, in its home turf in Carmona, Cavite.
But
this early, many stables are preparing their prized
gallopers three-year-olds because of some major prep
races where rich prizes are being offered by the
Philracom. These are the Philracom Chairman’s Cup on
March 18 where the total prize at stake is P1.5 million
and the Philracom three-year-old Stakes on April 8 with
a total pot of P1.4 million. These two took over the
place of the former two-leg Road To The Triple Crown
Championships.
The
total prizes now being offered in each leg had gone up
to a whopping P3 million where the winner will be
getting the top prize of P1.8 million. That’s P600,000
more than what last year’s winner had in each of the
three-leg championships for the best three-year-olds in
the land. There’s also a Hopeful Stakes for those
three-year-olds that would not be able to join the major
championship race where the Philracom is offering a
total of P800,000 each.
I
don’t think there will be a dearth of three-year-olds
that would be competing this year. With the way the
two-year-old scene was seen last year, we don’t see any
standouts among them who could be real contenders this
year.
The
past two years saw no distinct standout among the
three-year-olds. In 2005, the late-maturing Real Spicy
came into full-blown champion only in the third and
final leg when jockey Oyet Alcasid Jr. guided him to
victory. It was Speed Advantage and Thywillbedone who
prevailed in the first two legs, respectively.
Last
year, with the sidelining of Juggernaut because of a leg
injury, the championship turned into an open race when
no single horse was able to dominate their archrivals.
It was Don Exequiel who prevailed in the first leg with
jockey Ronald Baldonido onboard while jockey Dominador
Borbe Jr. partnered Special Edition to victory in the
second leg. The third leg saw the monumental upset
victory of Mr. Victory with jockey Fernando Raquel
onboard.
No
colt or filly has swept the series since 2001 when
Silver Story became the eighth horse to do the
hat-trick. Yes, since its first inception in 1978, only
eight horses have swept the series and, besides Silver
Story, the others are Capt. Herminio Mamon’s Fair &
Square in 1981, Henry Cojuangco’s Skywalker in 1983,
Andrew Sanchez Time Master in 1987, Magic Showtime in
1988, Toshio Abe’s Sun Dancer in 1989, Rolly Rojas’
Strong Material in 1996 and Real Top in 1998. It was Sun
Dancer which became the first filly to sweep the
championship.
Don
Pedro Cojuangco’s Native Gift, then ridden by the grand
El Maestro, jockey Elias Ordiales, won the first two
legs of the inaugural series only to be beaten by its
stablemate, Majority Rule (ridden by jockey Francisco
Galang) in the last and final leg.
Many
have tried and failed to come up with the eventual
champion in this coveted championship series for the
best three-year-olds in the land. But the mere chance of
entering one’s colt or filly in the series is more than
enough for any horsemen to have fulfillment as an owner
during his lifetime.
The
Triple Crown Championship Series had evolved to be one
of the greatest achievements for any horsemen worth
their salt in this business. That’s why they really move
heaven and earth in producing at least one or more
Triple Crown contenders in their lifetime.
In
the United States, the Triple Crown Series—the Kentucky
Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes—is
one of the most revered racing events. The three races
are viewed in most countries. |
