HAGDANG Bato and Pugad Lawin are set to renew their track rivalry in the 2,000-meter Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Presidential Gold Cup to be held Dec. 13 at San Lazaro Leisure Park.
The PCSO Racing Committee released the list of nine declared entries: #2 Dixie Gold, to be ridden by jockey Patricio Dilema, carrying 55 kgs.; #3 Kanlaon, Val Dilema, 55; #4 Low Profile, Mark Alvarez, 55; #6 Pugad Lawin, JPA Guce, 59; #7 Messi, JA Guce, 55; #7a (stall no. 5) Tap Dance, JB guce, 55; #8 Hagdang Bato, Jonathan Hernandez, 62; #8a (stall no. 1) Malaya, Kelvin Abobo, 54; #9 Penrith, Christopher Garganta, 56.
Handicapping for the PCSO Presidential Gold Cup is on a “points” system; weights are assigned based on previous wins of the entries in the race. Hagdang Bato was assigned 62 kgs. after having won the Gold Cup twice, in 2012 and 2014, while Pugad Lawin’s 59 results from his 2013 win in the Gold Cup.
They each have won the PCSO Silver Cup once, Hagdang Bato in 2013 and Pugad Lawin in 2014. Both lost the 2015 edition to Skyway last June.
Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur C. Abalos has filed an appeal to the PCSO Racing Committee to reduce the handicap weight of Hagdang Bato, saying that at 6YO, he is an older horse and no longer at his peak. The Racing Committee has yet to issue a reply.
* * * * *
Ruben Dimacuha’s Low Profile has an excellent chance of winning the Gold Cup next month if he shows the same stellar performance he pulled off when he won the Philracom Amb. Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr. Cup last Nov. 8 at Santa Ana Park.
Sent off as the outstanding favorite, Low Profile broke cleanly out the gate under jockey Mark Alvarez. The tandem took the lead and never looked back from there, winning by eight lengths wire-to-wire. Second choice Messi took second, followed by stablemate Tap Dance in third, and Eugenie fourth.
Low Profile (Tribal Rule x Lacquaria) posted 2:06 (24’-24-24’-26-27) for the 2,000-meter race. The record of 2:04.4 for that distance remains unbroken. It is held by three horses: local-bred Yes Pogi set it in the 16th PCSO Silver Cup in 2011 with Manolito F. Daquis aboard, and in 2005 by imports Wild Orchid (Philracom Classic Open, with Fernando M. Raquel Jr.) and Stowaway Lass (Spkr. Jose de Venecia Cup, with Valentino R. Dilema).
* * * * *
Last weekend at Metroturf racecourse was an exciting one for fans, with two stakes races held.
On Saturday (Nov. 14), Cool Summer Farm’s Dance Again, steered by Pat Dilema, won the 1,400-meter PCSO Special Maiden Race. The placers were, in order, Guatemala, Nothing But Dtruth, and Love Hate. The time for the race was 1:25.8 (13-21’-23-28).
On Sunday, (Nov. 15), Mayor Abalos’s Malaya, guided by Jonathan Hernandez, won the 1,200-meter Philracom Grand Sprint Championship. Another Abalos entry, Never Cease, was second, followed by Sharp Shooter and Pugad Lawin fourth and last. Time for the race was 1:10.6 (23-21’-26). *** Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Instagram: @jensdecember, Blog: http://jennyo.net