Victorious Colt Claims Triple Crown 3rd Leg
Victorious Colt lived up to its name and claimed the third and final leg of the Philippine Racing Commission’s Triple Crown series at Santa Ana Park, Saddle, and Clubs in Naic, Cavite on Sunday.
It was the biggest win yet for Victorious Colt as the JA G. Zialcita-owned stallion got its second wind to zoom past the favorites halfway through the long 2,000-meter race, crashing the two-horse party of Smart Candy and Wonderland and taking a comfortable five-length lead in the last 200 all the way to the finish.
First-leg winner Smart Candy went down the wire with another Triple Crown victor in Wonderland to complete its second TC runner-up finish. Wonderland finished third place, while Prosperity landed in fourth.
Oneal P. Cortez proved to be the perfect jockey for Victorious Colt as they both managed to dominate the wet track for the horse’s biggest jewel yet in its young career.
“Wala namang ipinagbago sa takbo namin, ganu’n din ang itinakbo niya nu’ng umuulan din,” said Cortez when asked about how they managed to give a triumphant run on a rainy Sunday afternoon. “Sa umpisa, okay siya, humahatak. Sa tingin ko hanggang diretso, kayang kaya. Kaya ni-rektahan ko na lang.”
From the start, it was a tense battle between the two favored horses of the SC Stockfarm-raised Smart Candy and the Herminio Esguerra-owned Wonderland, but Victorious Colt made a big run at the middle turn, caught up with the two and fought them a short battle before hitting its stride and breaking away from the pack.
Victorious Colt bagged the hefty top prize of P1.8 million and the trophy handed by Philracom Commissioners Wilfredo de Ungria and Victor Tantoco. The Breeder’s Purse of P100,000 went to Leonardo M. Javier Jr.
Smart Candy got the P675,000 runner-up purse for SC Stockfarm, while Wonderland collected P375,000 for Esguerra. Leonardo Javier’s Prosperity was rewarded with P150,000.
In the P1-million 2018 Philracom Hopeful Stakes Race, Talitha Koum (jockey RG Fernandez, George R. Raquidan) bagged the P600,000 champion’s purse, with Eli Brassous (Ro Niu Jr., Running Rich Racing, Inc.) and The Best Ever (PR Dilema, Herminio S. Esguerra) finishing second and third, respectively.
On the other hand, the P500,000-3YO Locally Bred Stakes Race was ruled by the The Barrister (JT Zarate, Daniel C. Tan), followed by Smell My Tail (MB Pilapil, Mark Vincent A. Geron) and Courageous (JB Hernandez, Narciso O. Morales); Misha (JB Guce, Leonardo M. Javier Jr.); Perlas ng Silangan (FM Raquel, Herminio S. Esguerra).
The three-leg series is patterned after the United States’ Triple Crown, with its three legs comprised of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, also with progressively longer distances.
Last year, SC Stockfarm’s Sepfourteen swept all the three legs of the series, becoming only the 11th member of the elite cast of Triple Crown sweepers, namely Fair and Square in 1981, Skywalker (1983), Time Master (1987), Magic Showtime (1988), Sun Dancer (1989), Strong Material (1996), Real Top (1998), Silver Story (2001), Hagdang Bato (2012) and Kid Molave (2014).
