Triple Crown 1st leg slated May 21

Nine colts and two fillies will pit guts and skills in the first leg of the most prestigious racing extravaganza for three-year-old horses – the Philippine Racing Commission-backed Triple Crown series – on May 21 at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

Fighting for the crown are Batang Poblacion of Ferdinand Eusebio, Biglang Buhos of Stony Road Horse Farm, Breaking News of Aristeo Puyat, Doshermanos Island (filly) and Pangalusian Island of Wilbert Tan, Hiway One of Joseph Dyhengco, Golden Kingdom of Lamberto Almeda Jr., Manda of Benjamin Abalos Jr., Metamorphosis of Herminio Esguerra, Sepfourteen of SC Stockfarm and Smokin Saturday of Roberto Inigo.

Up for grabs in the 1,600m race is P3 million, with P1.8 million going to the champion horse, P675,000 to the runner-up, P375,000 for third and P150,000 for fourth.

Different winners ruled last year’s Triple Crown, with the first leg won by longshot Radio Active, which beat early favorite Dewey Boulevard.

In the second leg, Dewey Boulevard beat the first-leg winner in a duel from start to finish, setting up a battle royale in the third leg. But another longshot in Underwood crashed the party and dashed past Dewey Boulevard down the stretch to win the third leg by three lengths.

The last time one horse swept it was in 2014 when Emmanuel Santos’s colt Kid Molave (Into Mischief x Unsaid) scored the rare 3-peat and won a P500,000 bonus.

The series was launched in 1978, with Native Gift winning the first two legs and Majority Rule denying him the sweep. There have been only 10 Triple Crown champions since then: Fair and Square in 1981, Skywalker (1983), Time Master (1987), Magic Showtime (1988), Sun Dancer (1989), Strong Material (1996), Real Top (1998), Silver Story (2001), Hagdang Bato (2012), and Kid Molave (2014).

“We expect some solid competition with the good field of horses not just for the Triple Crown but for the other races as well,” Philracom chairman Andrew Sanchez said. “Participating horseowners and their families will be there, and so are the fans cheering for their favorite horses and jockeys.”

Also on tap on May 21 is the Philracom Hopeful Stakes Race offering P1 million in total prizes and the Philracom 3YO Locally Bred Stakes Race, with P500,000 at stake.