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THE
Aquamarine II Stakes, the second stakes race for March
sponsored by the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom),
blasts off this Sunday at the Santa Ana Park.
A total
of P500,000 will be up for grabs in the 1,600-meter race
that will be participated in by seven tested runners.
The official entries and their respective riders are:
Anonymous, Jeff Zarate, 54; EJ’s Magic, DH Borbe, 56;
Kai Jason, CJ Reyes, 54; Kaloookan’s Pride, M. Alvarez,
54; Nothing Impossible, Pati Dilema, 55; Quant Je Puis,
Kelvin Abobo, 53; Sound Of Silence, CB Tamano, 54;
A
spirited chase for the top prize of P300,000 is expected
among the participants with the runner-up picking up
P112, 500, with the third and fourth placers getting
P62,500 and P25,000, respectively.
THAT
early rivalry among the top three-year-olds in the land
is getting a lot of attention from the racing
aficionados.
Don
Enrico, the fast-improving colt owned by Lorraine Uy Wi,
had drubbed his archrivals that included the heavily
favored Indelible Ink twice in a row already.
The
first, in the Philracom Chairman’s Cup on February 24,
was treated by the racing fans as a tsamba
because Don Enrico only managed to squeezed a slim head
victory over the much-heralded Philtobo Horse of the
Year awardee.
But last
Sunday, at the Philracom Aquamarine I, Don Enrico was a
picture of a rampaging colt. This time, the racing
aficionados were never to be denied the satisfaction of
seeing the far second choice colt beating the lights out
of his archrival. Don Enrico fashioned out a four-length
victory in wire-to-wire fashion, while Indelible Ink was
eased out of second place by the onrushing Imperial
Ballet.
That
four-length victory was more than enough to silence the
unbelievers as Don Enrico continued his march toward the
Triple Crown Championship Series with undeniable huge
psychological advantage. Although it’s still two months
before the big event starts, many had already
transferred their allegiance to Don Enrico after that
Sunday race.
But
there are those who are still hanging on and believing
that Indelible Ink could make a big comeback when the
two meet again in the future. And that future would be
on April 6, when the Philracom sponsors its Diamond I
Stakes at the San Lazaro Leisure Park (SLLP).
To be
run over the same 1,600-meter distance, the Diamond I
Stakes is open to all three-year-olds once again and it
would be a good venue once again for the heated rivalry
between Don Enrico and Indelible Ink.
FOR
those who are asking for the dates of the Triple Crown
Championship Series, the first leg will be held on May
18 at the SLLP, where the distance is pegged at 1,600
meters.
The next
two legs will transfer to the Santa Ana Park with the
second leg to be held on June 22 (1,800 meters), while
the third leg is on July 20 (2,050 meters). A whopping
P3 million is at stake in each of the three-jeweled
crown that is open only to all three-year-olds in the
land. There will be a Hopeful Stakes to be run as a
support race in all the three legs that is open also to
all three-year-olds that would not enter in the major
event.
NANA
NADAL of CityKart wrote us this one regarding the
24-hour Enduro competition they entered in
Thailand
recently:
“Hi
Andy, ‘would appreciate if you can acknowledge the team
in your column. It would be a great consuelo for
their hard work. As mentioned, we did not end up in the
podium but the Thailand 24 H Kart Racing experience was
awesome just the same. A total of 24 teams competed from
various countries including Thailand, Dubai, the UK,
China, France, Portugal, Bahrain, Japan, Germany and
Morocco. Out of the 145 participants, only four were
females and two out of those four were our very own Yna
and Mercy.
City
Kart-Lawin, composed of Jeff Freihuber, Vic Icasas, Jovy
Hernandez, Carl Luig, Yna Carrangan and Pasi Riipinen,
ended up in kart No. 4 after the drawing of lots, while
City Kart-Agila drivers Mike Asuncion, Jet Calosing,
Mercy Batoy, Pep Sandejas, Brian del Val, Mars de los
Reyes got kart No. 12. The official qualifying round was
held four hours of practice. It rained in the middle of
the practice session but the wet track was a welcome
challenge to the Pinoy contingent. After the 30-minute
qualifying heat—Carl and Vic drove for City Kart-Lawin,
while Brian and Mars represented City Kart Agila—Lawin
landed 19th on the grid and Agila occupied the 21st
position.
The
actual race started at exactly 12 noon on Saturday. The
teams had their lineup figured out but had to change
strategy after merely an hour into the race when it
started to rain. Vic and Mike, who were better drivers
on wet track, took on the wheels instead of the
youngsters Yna and Brian, as earlier planned.
16-year-old Yna had her chance to shine as she whipped
past karters double her age during her turn.
Seventeen-year-old Carl and 15-year-old Brian were also
equally impressive throughout their stints.
Despite
receiving news that his wife had to be rushed to the
hospital to deliver their baby, Pasi remained focused
during the race and gave it his all. Jet and Jovy held
their own against the competition, passing drivers every
now and then. And Mercy hung as tough as she could.
Jeff’s experience helped the team stay positive and his
constant reminder that “you are machines” kept
everyone’s energy high despite the exhaustion.
Our
teams fought hard round the clock. In the end, when
Carl and Brian crossed the finish line at 12 noon on
Sunday, Agila was on 13th place with 1,143 laps and
Lawin was on 16th with 1,140 laps. The trophies went to
the Mac Boys (France), Nivea Dubai (Dubai) and Benfica
(Portugal), but I think I am one with the Philippine
contingent in saying that we didn’t exactly go home
prize-less. Our drivers were amateurs and most of them
only learned to race at CityKart two years ago. Some had
even less experience, and yet they were able to compete
internationally. Thanks!” |
