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THE
local racing world has to wait for another and hope for
a new three-year-old who could sweep the Triple Crown
Championship Series.
This is
after Don Enrico thwarted the ambition of archrival
Indelible Ink for a sweep of this year’s series
sponsored by the Philippine Racing Commision (Philracom).
The three-year-old bay colt by Wind Blown out of
Kayumanggi, which is owned by Elena Uy Wi, was so
overwhelming in his victory, which he fashioned out with
a wire-to-wire run.
“Alam
ko na ho na mananalo na kami nu’ng maramdaman ko pumalo
na ’yung kalaban ko at hindi makalagpas sa amin. Marami
pa ho ’yung kabayo ko kaya nu’ng pagpasok sa rekta
[homestretch] lumayo pa kami sa kanya,” said
winning jockey John Alvin Guce, who made a successful
return aboard his regular horse. Alvin rode Don Enrico
in most of his major victories, but he was replaced by
jockey JB Hernandez in the first leg, where it only
checked in third behind eventual winner Indelible Ink
(an island-born by Best of Luck out of Seaquin).
Although
the seldom-used 1,800-meter distance is no longer his
territory, many were surprised when Don Enrico grabbed
the early lead despite having the farthest post position
at No. 6 (his original post is No. 7, but the scratching
of Queen Elena in the race moved four other horses
closer to the rail).
Don
Enrico thrived on shorter-distance races up to the mile,
as everybody has already seen. But winning the much
longer 1,800 meters raised many eyebrows. The absence of
any sprinter in the race after the scratching of Queen
Elena (which created a lot of problem to him in the
first leg) made it much easier for Don Enrico to grab
the early lead. After pushing his horse to a
three-length lead as they passed the judges’ stand,
jockey Guce was able to ease off a little bit while
Indelible Ink fought off a little traffic before
settling for a second spot in that canto.
Don
Enrico was still leading by two when Indelible Ink came
closer in the backstretch as the jampacked Sunday crowd
rose to its feet as it anticipated an action-packed
homestretch drive. But Don Enrico never gave an inch to
his archrival that tried to make a bolder bid from the
outer rail. By the time they hit the far turn, jockey
Guce stepped on the gas and Don Enrico accelerated hard,
leaving Indelible Ink by almost three lengths as they
entered the homestretch. “’Dun ko ho naramdaman na
wala na ’yung kalaban namin kaya itinodo ko na ho,”
said the smiling Guce.
So
lopsided was the victory that jockey Guce rose up and
pumped the air with his right fist as he was greeted
with thunderous cheers from the gallery. But that was a
no-no in local racing, that’s why he was fined P1,000
for raising his fist without crossing the finish line
first.
It was
sweet revenge, actually, for owner Lorrained Uy Wi and
Philracom commissioner Gerry Espina, who personally
received the championship trophy together with his
brother. The victory was worth a whopping P1.8 million.
Indelible Ink settled for the runner-up prize of
P675,000, but owner Hermie Esguerra received another
P100,000 bonus, being the breeder of the winning horse
Don Enrico. Wind Blown was his prized stallion, while
Kayumanggi was one of his earlier horses and broodmares.
Tony
Tan’s Shining Fame (by Royal Premiere out of Harry’s
District) was a different colt on Sunday as it only
finished a distant third. His performance was a
disappointment compared with what he did at the other
race track in the first leg, where he came in a very
close second to Indelible Ink. He managed to pick up
P375,000 for the effort, while fourth placer Champion Of
Show salvaged P150,000. Eddie Dimacuha’s Love Story and
Irving Doyle Paras’s Super Crezee finished fifth and
sixth, respectively. Herma Farms’ Queen Elena was
scratched for lameness.
Later in
the evening, Raymund Puyat’s Hieroglyphics nosed out
Bohemian Dave to bag the closely contested Hopeful
Stakes. The three-year-old island-born colt by Alphabet
Soup out of Tejano Eyes made a daring maneuver at the
top of the stretch and went out of the way of heavy
favorite Anonymous, who was already losing steam. That
proved to be successful as winning rider Christopher
Tamano grabbed the lead and staved off a last-ditch
rally by the onrushing Bohemian Dave, a progeny of
Danehill stallion Minsk out of Solanie Belle.
“Kapiraso
na lang ho ang pagitan namin ’nung si Anonymous.
Kung hindi ko naipasok sa loob ’yung kabayo ko eh tiyak
hong makakasama niya ako sa bukahan,” said the
former young apprentice, who rose up to the ranks of
class journeymen. Hieroglyphics stopped the clock at
1:54.6 with stops of 14-22’-25-25’-27.
The
victory was worth the top prize of P600,000, while
Bohemian Dave rewarded owner and former Philracom
commissioner Dante Arevalo the runner-up prize of
P225,000. Hermie Esguerra’s Anonymous (another
island-born filly by Petionville out of Matinee Marvel)
settled for third and P125,000, while Tony Eleazar’s
Security Queen (another progeny by Minsk out of Beauty
Contest) was fourth for P50,000. Rounding out the
finishers in the 1,800-meter race were Speed Almighty,
Sauvignon, Victorian Stones, Luna Rossa, Arithmetic,
Tabako, Capretiosa and Will of Destiny, in that order.
Prime Zone, another official starter, was scratched
earlier. |
