A Productive Friday at Palermo: Crowds, Promising Debuts, and Names to Watch

Claro Bombón, Emisora Mundial, and Cuéntalo Otra Vez won their debuts on the Palermo dirt; Preston Boss and Kopke were the best among the older horses

After the layoff, Kopke showed his best form once again / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

When there are good races, the people respond. It’s clear that a Friday won’t fill the stands like the Nacional, but Palermo on the week’s closing day saw a lively atmosphere and a productive crowd, generating a total handle of 517,084,792 pesos, averaging 34,472,986 per race.

Among the 15 races run, several stood out, including three events for two-year-olds over the dirt mile—two for colts and one for fillies.

In the first step of the Premio Mat Wind for colts, debut and a juicy win (paid $13.30) went to Claro Bombón (Claro Oscuro x Qué Vida Bomba, by Qué Vida Buena, bred by Elbio A. Anconetani), who showed plenty of grit to hold off Carpe Blanco (Strategos) and Serbal (Springdom) by three-quarters and half a length respectively, ridden by Kevin Banegas and trained by Darío G. Bourlot.

Later, it was the fillies’ turn in the Premio Nice Lord, where another perfect debut was delivered by Emisora Mundial(Santillano x Emisaria, by Roy, Haras La Pasión), winning by 1½ lengths over La Kanosa (Qué Vida Buena). Juan C. Etchechoury Jr. trains the filly, with William Pereyra aboard in the colors of Rubio B.

Finally, in the division of the Premio Mat Wind, the photo finish belonged to Cuéntalo Otra Vez (Strategos x Early Summer, by Songandaprayer, Haras El Paraíso), who easily defeated Mask Bonito (Mask) by 2½ lengths. Again, Kevin Banegas was in the irons, with the gray representing Stud Don Joaquín and trained by César Zapico.

Among the older horses, two standout races took place. First, the quality Preston Boss (Holy Boss x Pleasant Legend, by Tapit), owned by La Leyenda, returned to winning form in the demanding 1600 meters of the Premio New Dandy, leading all the way to win by one length over Atomic Trigger (Cosmic Trigger) in a blazing 1:32.91. The winning team was Juan Saldivia and Francisco Leandro.

The Brazilian also enjoyed success with the three-year-old Kopke (Hi Happy x Kokola, by Orpen, Haras La Providencia) in the Premio Four Limits (1600m, dirt), where the Las Monjitas’ representative notched his second victory since returning from a layoff. Trained by Carlos D. Etchechoury, Kopke is a name to watch.