NAIC, Cavite—Two down, one to go.
The winning tandem of Sepfourteen and star jockey John Alvin Guce made it two in a row in the Philippine Racing Commission’s Triple Crown series at the San Lazaro Park here Sunday after winning a thrilling battle against stablemate Brilliance and longshot Hiway One.
The triumph moved Sepfourteen, owned by SC Stockfarm’s Oliver Velasquez, to within a win shy of becoming the 11th champion of the Triple Crown Series.
If Sepfourteen wins the third leg set over a longer distance of 2,000 meters, he’ll join the greats such as 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).
Guce guided the three-year-old colt sired by Consolidator and Regal Boom to stay behind the frontrunning Brilliance until the third turn of the 1,800 meter course, before making his big move.
They got in front from Brilliance’s right side after going into the last 760 meters, never letting go of whatever slim lead they got until the finish line.
Septourteen reached the finish line in one minute and 54.6 seconds, followed in second by Brilliance. Hiway One came in third after joining a close chase for first place in the last 100-meters.
“Sumunod lang po kami kay Brilliance. Kasi de-bandera ito. Iyung aki, de remate lang. Kaya sunod lang,” said Guce.
Last month, Sepfourteen took the first leg crown of the 2017 Philracom-Triple Crown Stakes Race by a big margin at the San Lazaro Leisure Park racetracks in Carmona, Cavite. At that time, Guce was also on top of him as he found an opportunity to pull away in the last 400 meters.
Sepfourteen took home the second leg prize of P1.8 million, while Brilliance earned P675,000.
Earlier, jockey Jonathan Hernandez swept the first two two of the three races of the Philracom.
Hernandez and Cerveza Rosas took the top honors in the 3YO Locally Bred Stakes Race, beating Batang Poblacion and Alfie. This earned them a purse of P300,000.
Afterwards, Hernandez rode Smokin Saturday to the second leg trophy of the Hopeful Stakes Race to grab the paycheck of P600,000. Great Wall (Apoy Asuncion, P225,000) and Mount Pulag (Raquel, P125,000) came in second and third, respectively.
“I’m sure racing fans had a blast with the exciting races offered by Philracom,” said Philracom Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez, who was joined in the awarding of winners by his commissioners Binevenido Niles Jr. and Atty. Wilfredo De Ungria, executive director Dr. Andrew Rovie Buencamino, PRCI Racing Manager Antonio Alcasid Jr. and PRCI Chief Operating Officer Santiago Cualoping III. “This sets us up nicely going into the final leg of the Triple Crown.”