Vavavoom, with Andrew “Dodong” Villegas on top, was a cut above the rest in topping the PSA Cup race in the rain Sunday at the Metro Turf in Malvar, Batangas Sunday.
Vavavoom stormed out of the gates and sustained a torrid pace en route to winning by five lengths with a clocking of one minute and 25.4 seconds and quarter times of 14-22-22-26 in the 1.4-kilometer race.
The Dan Camanero-saddled Lucky Lea, CP Henson-ridden Biglang Buhos and JA Guce-mounted Denueis Son settled for crumbs, winding up second to fourth places, respectively.
For the old hands and race fixtures, the lopsided win was inevitable as Vavavoom was trained by a maestro in grizzled veteran Ruben Tupas and multi-titled horse owner and breeder in Sandy Javier, a known sportsman who has dabbled in basketball in the past.
“Hindi na ako masyado na-surprise kasi lahat ng prestigious races naipanalo ko,” said Tupas, a recipient of multiple trainer of the year awards.
The proceeds of the race will go to the charity programs of the PSA headed by The Philippine STAR sports editor Nelson Beltran.
“This annual benefit race is for the PSA and we’re here to partner with the sportswriting community and support their advocacies,” said Philracom president Reli de Leon.
De Leon was accompanied in the awarding ceremony by his acting executive director Ronaldo Corpuz and MMCTI’s race manager Rondy Prado.
