A slam-bang showdown looms in the 3rd leg of the Philippine Racing Commission’s Triple Crown Series at the MetroTurf Racing Complex on Sunday as six of the country’s best three-year-old thoroughbreds, led by the series’ first two winners Real Gold and Boss Emong, clash for fame, fortune and glory.
First-leg winner Real Gold (jockey JP A Guce) of the C & H Enterprise and second-leg champ Boss Emong (jockey Dan Camanero) of owner Edward Vincent Diokno are the odds-on picks to run away with the third jewel of the Triple Crown series.
But don’t tell that to Diokno, who is wary of the tough competition expected from the rest of the chargers.
“It’s anybody’s race. I don’t think magiging fight lang ito between my horse Boss Emong and Real Gold, only God can tell kung sino ba ang nararapat para sa korona ng 3rd leg ng Triple Crown,” said Diokno. “Ang kabayo ko ang pinakamura sa lahat ng tatakbo pero basta kami ng team ko, ibibigay namin lahat dito, pagpapala ng ‘Ina ng Laging Saklolo’ ang tanging kulang. Kung sino man po ang manalo, nararapat po ‘yun sa kanila or sa amin.”
The four others standing in their way and the top prize of P1.8-million from the guaranteed P3 million pot in the long 2,000-meter race are Moises Villasenor’s My Jopay (jockey Pat R. Dilema); Melanie Habla’s Shanghai Grey (jockey JB Hernandez); Juanito Tionloc’s Sir Joaquin (JT Zarate) and Renato Virata’s My Dad Bogart (MP Laloma).
My Jopay, for one, has participated in the first two legs and could be ripe for a breakthrough win, while My Dad Bogart and Sir Joaquin could pull off a surprise.
“We are blessed that Real Gold is able to compete in all three legs of the triple crown. Special thanks goes to the connections behind the conditioning of the horse. May the best horse win this coming Sunday,” said Butch Mamon, one of Real Gold’s owners.
Second-placer of the race pockets P675,000, with the third and fourth placers getting P375,000 and P150,000, respectively. A P100,000 prize is allotted for the breeder of winning horse. All prizes are put up by the Philracom.
In the accompanying third leg of the 2019 Philracom Hopeful Stakes Race, which will also be ran in 2,000 meters, a seven-horse field, bannered by second leg runner-up Two Timer (owner Melanie Habla, jockey JA Guce) and third placer The Accountant (Luis Aguila, Pat R Dilema), will be eyeing the P600,000 top prize, from the total P1-million purse offered.
Joining the Hopeful Stakes field are Best Regards (owner Peter Aguila, jockey CP Henson), My Shelltex (Antonio Tan, JB Guce), Phenomenal (Enrique Javier, JP A Guce), Tulos Express (Mario Alvarez, RM Garcia) and Westeros (Juan Miguel Yulo, AR Villegas).
Runner-up gets P225,000, while third- and fourth-placers receive P125,000 and P50,000, respectively, with winning breeder taking P30,000.
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.