Tight battle in the 2022 Philracom 3YO Maiden Stakes held at the Metro Manila Turf Club in Malvar, Batangas.
Rain Man conquers Philracom 3YO Maiden Stakes
PRE-RACE favorite Rain Man and rider Jeff Zarate dug deep into their bag of tricks to just get past longshot Sir William in the P1.2-million 2022 Philracom 3YO Maiden Stakes held recently at the Metro Manila Turf Club in Malvar, Batangas.
As the gates opened, a battle for the lead ensued between longshots Dr. Rap and Sir William which went on for most of the 1400-meter journey with Rain Man nicely tucked in fourth while the other favored contender, Ala Savoun was two places back.
But as they reached the final 600-meter mark the two frontrunners still did not let each other off-the-hook and at this point Zarate urged his mount to make a move but the two up front were still around six lengths ahead.
With the stretch run remaining, Dr.Rap, visibly tired from the speed scuffle began to fade out of contention and it was Sir William making a beeline for the wire as Rain Man inched and clawed his way to make for lost ground.
At the finish line, the Dance City-Hookkaida progeny mustered just enough strength to eke out a victory by a mere head over Sir William, then came Ala Savoun, Pharaoh’s King, Freedom Lover and Midship Bell.
However, the official outcome of the race was withheld due to a stewards’ inquiry for third placing, with Ala Savoun eventually relageted to fourth behind Pharaoh’s King due to an infraction.
Thus the official order of arrival will be Rain Man, Sir William, Pharaoh’s King, Ala Savoun, Freedom Lover and Midship Bell.
Rain Man’s connections (Joey Sevilla-owner, Ruchie Ladiana-trainer and Zarate-jockey) took home the plum and P720-thousand as pize money.
Official time of the race was 1:26.2 (13-22-23-28′) for the distance.
Sir William’s connections earned P240-thousand for the second place effort, while Pharaoh’s King, Ala Savoun, Freedom Lover and Midship Bell contend themselves with P120-thousand, P60-thousand, P36,000 and P24,000, respectively.
“The racing public will be expecting more exciting finishes in the major events to come. With the Philracom Classic, the Chairman’ Cup (for older horses) and the Triple Crown series (for three-year olds) coming soon, the bayang karerista should expect slam-bang affairs that will tickle their love for the Sport of Kings”, Philracom Chairman Aurelio “Reli” de Leon said.
