December 2009

 THE HOARSE WHISPERER  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  9 December 2009, Wednesday

Don Enrico Wins PCSO Gold Cup

 “So now we know,” said railbirds, “who the Horse of the Year is likely to be.”

This was the buzz after Don Enrico won the 37^th Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Presidential Gold Cup, the richest and most celebrated event on the racing calendar, last Sunday at the Manila Jockey Club’s San Lazaro Leisure Park.

Steered by Fernando Raquel Jr., the 4YO Philippine-bred colt negotiated the 2,000-meter journey with relative ease, preferring to run off the pace with island-born rival Ibarra taking the lead in the six horse-field.

The four other runners were Sword O’War, Dream Supreme, Shining Fame, and Dumadagundong. All broke well from the gate but these four were no match for Don Enrico and Ibarra, who set as much as eight lengths between them and Shining Fame who was running in third.

 It looked like a match race with the two contestants way in front, with Ibarra, guided by Kelvin Abobo, slightly ahead by as much as three lengths in the backstretch.

But come the far turn, Don Enrico began to rev up and easily caught up to Ibarra. The two took the home turn almost as one. Just past the bend, Raquel gave Don Enrico a little flick of the whip on the shoulder. That faint signal was enough to send Don Enrico into overdrive. The brave bay colt flung out his legs and ran the race of his life, stride after patient stride sending him farther away from his opponents till he crossed the wire way ahead of them, crowning himself a champion and bringing home the gold.

Ibarra came second to bag a hefty P500,000 purse; Dream Supreme third to earn P250,000; and Shining Fame fourth for P125,000.

PCSO chairman Sergio Valencia himself presented the heavy gold replica cup to Don Enrico’s owners Lorraine Uy Wi and Gerardo Espina Jr., and golden trophies to jockey Raquel and trainer Arturo Sordan Jr.

Also present at the awarding ceremony were Philippine Racing Commission chairman lawyer Jose Ferdinand Rojas II, PCSO Committee on Races chair lawyer Jose Malang and vice-chair Reynaldo Empremiado, MJC chairman lawyer Alfonso Reyno Jr., Pacific Gaming’s Tan Eng Hwa, and other racing officials and guests.

Facsimile checks worth P1.5 million from PCSO and P1 million from Philracom were presented to the beaming owners. The P2.5 million total prize for first place makes this year’s PCSO Gold Cup one of the best-rewarded in its history.

 ”We congratulate the owners of Don Enrico,” said PCSO chairman Valencia, “on the grand performance displayed by their horse today, and look forward to the future champions that will  emerge at this annual event. We hope the generous prize money put up by the two agencies may be an incentive for breeders and owners to continue producing quality Philippine-bred champions.”

Not as large a horse as his sire, the “mighty Wind Blown” (as racing commentators have named him in an oft-repeated label that has become a cliché in the sport’s circles), Don Enrico showed the legacy of the “winningest” horse in Philippine racing with his trick of pulling away from the pack in the stretch and going on to triumph by lengths.

“Parang ama niya kung tumakbo,” marveled ranch hands from Herma Farms and Stud, where Don Enrico was born to Australian broodmare Kayumanggi.  Like Wind Blown, Don Enrico is considered late-maturing, getting better as he ages, like fine wine. He also has no problem with heavy handicap weights and runs well on both MJC and Philippine Racing Club tracks.

 Will Don Enrico be hailed Horse of the Year? We’ll find out in just a few weeks.   ***

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THE HOARSE WHISPERER By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today, 2 December 2009, Wednesday

Successful PCSO and MARHO Races

Put together speed plus the best horses plus talented jockeys plus well-balanced handicapping and you’ve got the recipe for a successful racing event – and that’s what was served last raceweek at the Philippine Racing Club’s New Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite.

The Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners celebrated its 35^th anniversary with the staging of the week-long 14^th MARHO Breeders’ Cup championships. Now an annual tradition among racing fans and participants since it was launched by MARHO’s Aristeo Puyat and Sandy Javier in 1996, the six championships run last Sunday showcased a scintillating cast of the best among the elite thoroughbred runners in the country today.

The MBC Sprint (1,000 meters) was won by defending champion EJ’s Magic (Self Feeder – Heir Apparent). Owned by CT Castro, trained by Ernesto Roxas, and ridden by jockey Fernando Raquel Jr., the 5YO veteran blasted past opponents Tiger Song, Minsk City, Sutter’s Royal, and Eternal Flame to cop the P200,000 first prize. Million Dollar, a previous winner of the event, was scratch the day before the race.

The Philracom-MBC Juvenile Fillies (1,300 m) was hotly contested, but at the end, MP Sanchez’s Tiger Moon (Rum Tum Tiger-Last Snip) prevailed, guided by promising youngster John Paul Guce and conditioned by long-time trainer Johnny Sordan.

Honors in the Philracom-MBC Juvenile Colts went to the favorite, Herminio Esguerra’s Carriedo (Deputy Bodman – Astuce). Steered by Jesse Guce and trained by Dave de la Cruz, the feisty bay colt easily undermined his rivals.

The MBC Filly Mile was a revelation, with top favorite Heaven Sent fading in the stretch to allow the John Cordero-piloted Nuclear Power (Wind Blown – My Sweet Girl) to come from behind. This was another win for the Esguerra racing stable and for trainer de la Cruz.

John Cordero on Nuclear Power winning the MBC Filly Mile.

Dream Supreme (Baseball Champion – Belle of Ack) reigned in the Santa Ana Park – MBC Colt Mile. Another John Cordero-ridden mount, this one owned and bred by Nathaniel Velasco and trained by Jose Mario Jacob, the brave bay colt charged past seven other rivals to claim the P500,000 first prize.

In the 2,000-meter San Miguel Beer-MBC Classic, the victory and P1 million first prize went to the favorite, Lorraine Uy Wi’s Don Enrico (Wind Blown-Kayumanggi), ridden by Raquel and trained by Arturo Sordan Jr. The son of track icon Wind Blown (Hazm- Windinmyhair), the winningest horse in local racing, Don Enrico plainly showed he carries his father’s genes in his astounding wire-to-wire run that saw him pulling away in the stretch to win by over ten lengths.

Esguerra’s Batangas-based Herma Farms and Stud claimed five of the six breeders’ trophies, save only for the Colt Mile. The awards were accepted by the foreman, studmaster, and other ranch hands – Dante, Ariel, Edwin, Simo, Wendell, and Eddie.

Last Saturday, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Diamond Anniversary races were graced by PCSO chairman Sergio Valencia himself, who witnessed Australian import Fond Embrace (Belong To Me – Custodial) win the PCSO 75^th Anniversary race. Owned by Joy Raymundo, trained by Mark Tupas, and steered by Christopher Garganta, the 6YO bay mare came from seventh position in a field of 13 to win by four lengths.

CV Garganta on Fond Embrace enters the winner’s circle.

Grand Homer won the PCSO EZ2 Lotto race; Grey Magic, the 6/45 Lotto race; Action Sailor, the 6/49 Lotto race; while Angel Dugo overcame in the STL race and Phil’s Game in the Traditional Sweepstakes race.

With the success of the PCSO Diamond races, chairman Valencia and the PCSO Committee on Races chaired by Atty. Jose Malang are considering staging the event again next year, billing it as the “Anniversary Racing Festival”. This will bring to three the annual PCSO events, along with the First Spouse Silver Cup and the Presidential Gold Cup (this year’s edition will run on Sunday, December 6, at San Lazaro Leisure Park).  ***

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 THE HOARSE WHISPERER  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  25 November 2009, Wednesday

 MARHO and PCSO Powerhouse Races

For perhaps the first time ever in the history of the sport in the Philippines, two entities that support horseracing combine forces to deliver a power-packed weekend of ultra-hot galloping action that will have racegoers screaming in their seats.

The Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office are both celebrating landmark occasions this year – the MARHO, their 35^th -(Jade) anniversary; PCSO, their 75^th  (Diamond).  Together, the luster of these precious gems, the symbols of MARHO and PCSO for this year, will sparkle together in twin coruscations that will adorn the history of the sport.

MARHO’s Jade Breeders’ Cup raceweek is set from November 24 to 29 at the Philippine Racing Club’s New Santa Ana Park racecourse in Naic, Cavite.

Despite economic difficulties, “MARHO has forged ahead with its commitment to its members and the thoroughbred community in general to stage what is still the most prestigious horseracing festival on the calendar,” said MARHO president Mandaluyong mayor Benhur Abalos.

 The MBC program, the brainchild of MARHO’s then-president Aristeo Puyat and chairman Sandy Javier, began in 1996 as an incentive for local thoroughbred owners and breeders to improve the quality of their racehorses.

“The program’s aim was to bring racing and breeding closer to international standards,” said Javier, still current MARHO chair. “Its objectives were to provide incentives for local breeders to improve bloodstock in the country, and for racehorse owners to bring up their runners to championship standards.”

Sunday, November 29, will see the 14^th running of the six traditional MBC championships  – MBC Sprint (1,000 meters), Philracom-MBC Juvenile Fillies and Philracom-MBC Juvenile Colts (both 1,300 meters), MBC Filly Mile and Santa Ana Park Colt Mile (both 1,600 meters), and the San Miguel Beer-MBC Classic (2,000 meters).

Abalos thanked the event sponsors – MARHO founder and San Miguel Corporation chairman Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr., who has supported the program since its inception; the Philippine Racing Commission under chairman Atty. Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II and commissioners; and the Philippine Racing Club, whose Santa Ana Park is MARHO’s home track. The other sponsors are the Ciara Marie Abalos Foundation, Hygain Feeds, and Easifeeds.

 The PCSO’s Diamond Anniversary activities for racing include the second wave of PCSO Diamond Races on November 28, Saturday, also at New Santa Ana Park.

 These include the PCSO Games Races named for its products – the EZ2 Lotto Race, 6/45 Megalotto Race, 6/49 Superlotto Race, Small-Town Lottery Race, and the Traditional Sweepstakes Race.

The day’s highlight is the once-in-a-lifetime 1,800-meter PCSO 75^th Anniversary Race – the Diamond Cup. Thirteen imports and island-born horses will vie against each other for the top prize of P600,000.00, from a total purse for first to fourth of one million pesos.

“The PCSO Diamond Anniversary Racing Festival,” said PCSO chairman Sergio O. Valencia, “is a historic event that celebrates the ties between the agency and the sport of horseracing.” PCSO vice-chair and general manager Rosario C. Uriarte thanked the members of the racing industry and sports fans “who have strongly supported the cause of charity in various ways throughout the years.”

This is one speed-filled, action-crammed racing weekend that a true sportsman should not miss!   ***

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 THE HOARSE WHISPERER  By Jenny Ortuoste for Manila Standard-Today,  18 November 2009, Wednesday

 MARHO Jade Championships

The mother of all horseracing events is set to unfold once more at the Philippine Racing Club’s New Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite – a spectacular speed-and-endurance fest that racing fans look forward to every November.

The Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners’ Jade Breeders’ Cup championship races, set for November 24 to 29 and coinciding with the group’s 35^th anniversary celebration, will provide horseracing fans the heart-pumping action that they have come to expect from the quality runners that compete in this elite stakes event.

Open only to locally-bred horses, the program, as conceived fourteen years ago by MARHO pillars Leonardo Javier Jr. (chairman) and Aristeo Puyat (president emeritus), has the long-term goal of raising horseracing to international standards in part by providing financial incentives and peer recognition to encourage horseowners and breeders to produce Philippine-bred champions.

The program has been sustained through the the loyal and generous support of partners such as San Miguel Corporation and its chairman and CEO, MARHO founder Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.; the Philippine Racing Commission; Philippine Racing Club (home track of MARHO), and others. It has been and still is the richest festival of its kind on the racing calendar.

Six championship races will be run on Sunday, November 29, with the following participants and prizes (total from first to fourth places):

San Miguel Beer-MBC Classic, P1.8 million: 2,000 meters, all to carry 57 kgs: Oliver Gianan’s Sword O’War (jockey John Alvin Guce), Joseph Dyhengco’s Ididitmyway (Louie Balboa), Lorraine Uy Wi’s Don Enrico (Fernando Raquel Jr.), Tony Tan’s Shining Fame (Jesse Guce), Nery Sunga’s Es Twenty Six (Antonio Alcasid Jr.), Napoleon Chua’s Gypsy Grey (Patricio Dilema), Herminio Esguerra’s Scud Missile (Rodeo Fernandez), and Elias Chua’s Tigerwould (Michael Yap).

Santa Ana Park -MBC Colt Mile, P900,000: 1,600 meters, all 56 kgs: Dennis Pineda’s Creation (Jesse Guce), Dyhengco’s Boni’s Gem (Christopher Tamano), Benhur Abalos’s Lakay (Dominador Borbe Jr.) and Schadow Strafze (Kelvin Abobo), Manny Santos’s Oh Wacky (John Alvin Guce), Antonio Coyco’s True Value (Raquel), Nel Velasco’s Dream Supreme (John Cordero), Rita Pilapil’s Lively Dude (Mark Alvarez).

MBC Filly Mile, P900,000: 1,600 meters, all 54 kgs: Esguerra’s Nuclear Power (Raquel) and Blue Ocean (Jesse Guce), Jose Mari Franco’s Sutter Dee Night (John Paul Guce), and Pilapil’s Heaven Sent (Fernandez).

Philracom Juvenile Colts, P900,000: 1,300 meters, all 54 kgs: Francis Lim’s Yes Pogi (Raquel), Wilbert Tan’s Thoti’s Best (Borbe), Armando Sanchez’s Real Winner (John Alvin Guce) and Pinakamagaling (John Paul Guce), Esguerra’s Carriedo (Jesse Guce) and Gastambide (Fernandez), and Herma Farms’s Lealtad (Cordero).

Philracom Juvenile Fillies, P900,000: 1,300 meters, all 54 kgs: Santa Clara Stock Farms’s Blonde Ambition (Virgilio Camañero Jr.), Abalos’s Redemption (Jesse Guce), Tony Tan’s Elusive Cat (Abobo), Wilbert Tan’s Perfect Material (Karvin Malapira), Robert Yutadco’s Speed Spell (Raquel), Sanchez’s Tiger Moon (John Paul Guce), Esguerra’s Morayta (Cordero) and Andalucia (Fernandez), Tony de Ubago’s Flying Wid You (Alcasid), Patrick Uy’s Moscow Vallet (Alvarez), and Rona Yanagisawa’s Woodsy Ribbon (Borbe).

MBC Sprint, P400,000: 1,000 meters: Lamberto Almeda Jr.’s Minsk City (Abobo, 55 kgs), Napoleon Chua’s Million Dollar (Alvarez, 57 kgs), Sanchez’s Sutter’s Royal (Dilema, 55 kgs), Moises Villaseñor’s Tiger Song (Fernandez, 55 kgs), Esguerra’s Eternal Flame (Jesse Guce, 55 kgs), and Cezar Castro’s EJ’s Magic (Raquel, 57 kgs).

There are also Breeders’ Purses of P100,000 plus custom commemorative winners’ trophies made in England from crystal and silverplate.

 November 28, Saturday, will showcase the second wave of PCSO Diamond Anniversary Races – the EZ2 Lotto Race, 6/45 Megalotto Race, 6/49 Superlotto Race, Small-Town Lottery Race, and the Traditional Sweepstakes Race, with the highlight event the PCSO 75^th Anniversary Race – the Diamond Cup – a unique event that will certainly be memorable as it will never be repeated. A tough 1,800 meter challenge, it pits thirteen imports and island-born horses against each other for the top prize of P600,000.00. Total prizes from first to fourth places total a glittering one million pesos.

Alexandrina, Antiress, Batang Tundo, Fierce Fighter, Fond Embrace, Holy Ridge, Lim Expensive Toys, Miss Elliott, Mooney Money, Multiply, My Hope, Tiwi Magic, and Ziraz are the entries in this special event.   ***

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