Zona de Azar Argentina – Argentina: Grand National Prize , Unmissable Video of This Triple Crown

Argentina.- November 12, 2024 www.zonadeazar.com Cuan Chef and Eduardo Ortega Pavón are a successful partnership. The colt and jockey have teamed up three times at the racetrack, and each time has ended happily.

Their latest victory, this Saturday at Palermo, was a performance that earned applause long before reaching the finish line of the Gran Premio Nacional (G1-2500m). The conclusion of the Triple Crown saw a dominant winner from start to finish by nine lengths.

“When I first started riding him and we won among the non-winners, I told some colleagues that I had the National winner,” said the Paraguayan jockey, who has been on Argentine tracks for 18 years. Many can confirm these words, practically spoiling the Derby’s outcome two months before the race. His confidence grew after winning the Eduardo Casey Classic (G2-2200m) in October. On Friday, he used his rarely active Instagram account to share a photo of Cuan Chef with the caption, “Let’s go tomorrow.” It was the race of his dreams.

Cuan Chef, with Eduardo Ortega Pavón, won from start to finish in the Gran Premio Nacional (G1) at Palermo. (Courtesy of Violeta Bullrich / Hapsa)

Unreachable from the start, the chestnut colt was like a locomotive. Oleguer, the favorite who faltered in the Polla, recovered but only managed a distant second, followed by Baranello. It was a victory built through a parallel campaign by trainer Alfredo Gaitán Dassie, who raised the cup for this classic after 15 years. “He’s one of a kind,” Gaitán Dassie described him. Even before the Casey, he had publicly said he expected long-distance races because “one stride of mine equals two of the others.” He weighs in at 514 kilos of pure power.

Francisco Pérez Wertheim owns the colt. “We chose him at the Pozo de Luna stud farm because he looked a lot like Cool Day. Over time, this colt became even more physically impressive,” he recalled. The bar was already set high: Cool Day won the Carlos Pellegrini in 2020. For Establecimiento Mariana Eva, the stable, it was worth the wait to have another internationally competitive racehorse.

El Gran Premio Nacional (G1)

Napa Valley won the Gran Premio Palermo – Copa Haras Firmamento (1600m) in another story of horses reaching a second home and reaching the top. “Five months ago, the owner showed up and told me he had bought a winner with some classic placements. We entered him in 1400-meter races, and we quickly realized he could go longer. Now he’s won three with us, and this is the first Group 1 win for Roque Alberto’s stable,” recalled trainer Pablo Sahagian. For his breeder, RDI, he had competed nine times, was sold after a disappointing performance.

Colifato Novo and Yak Sport, two colts in the lot, fought at the fast pace of short races, exhausting themselves by the final stretch. Emmspacial Boy, who followed from a prudent distance, took over on the turn and led most of the final straight, but Napa Valley surged ahead in the decisive moment. El Que Sabe finished second, two lengths behind, securing a 1-2 for Il Campione’s progeny. Back for the photo, jockey Pablo Carrizo couldn’t hold back tears: “I’d been coming so close to big wins. I work hard every morning to win these major classics.” He had waited six years and six months since his last big win with El DT in the Gran Premio Montevideo of 2018.

The Gran Premio Palermo (G1)

As night fell, the event held one more gem, crafted by Labrado to build on his legendary status. The top sprinter of 2022 and 2023 faced trouble in the first meters, as often happens, and admirably recovered, as usual. Ridden masterfully by Wilson Moreyra, jockey for all 18 of his races with 13 wins, Labrado emerged on the inside in the final stretch to claim the Gran Premio Maipú (G1-1000m) – Copa Biogénesis Bagó for the second time, in another suspenseful finish by a head over Comopudosucederme. Last year, he lost the same classic by that narrow margin.

The Gran Premio Maipú (G1)

“He’s the most important horse I’m riding. This time he started well, but those inside drifted and left me without space. He ended up last but managed to join the group by himself, and I just had to hope he had the strength at the end, which he did,” said Moreyra, grateful for Cristian Velázquez’s help with Capo Vaticano, protecting him from a fall. Labrado shone just like Cuan Chef, and all of Venado Tuerto, where he’s trained, seemed to be in the photo.

Edited by: @_fonta www.zonadeazar.com Fuente: La Nación.com.ar