A Ruler Man Faces a Stiff Test Against a Competitive Field in the Handicap Liloy

The Manipulator colt will lock horns with Filoso Class, Bizarrap, and Mario’s Rim down the Palermo dirt straight at Libertador y Dorrego

Ruler Man comes off a solid victory down the Palermo straight / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

Another short and uninspiring program will be on offer this Monday at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo, in a 2026 season that—aside from Sunday’s card—has so far been defined by races of very low technical quality and purses worthy of a “budget doctor” philosophy.

The highlight of the afternoon will come in the seventh race, around 6:45 p.m., with the Handicap Liloy (1000m, dirt), the most significant event on the card. Open to horses aged four and up, it will award ARS 7,000,000 to the winner.

Several proven names in the division are set to line up, led by Ruler Man (Lenovo, 56.5kg), who looks to build on his current good form. Now with Kevin Banegas taking over the ride, the Stud Pilufa runner from Azul comes off an emphatic success in the Handicap Hunter’s Moon, where he toyed with his rivals and drew off by five lengths over Galán de Moda (Qué Vida Buena), clearly with plenty left in reserve.

This assignment figures to be considerably tougher. Among others, he will have to contend with the battle-hardened Filoso Class (Filoso Emperor, 60.5kg), a winner of 11 races whose most recent victory came in the Handicap Sorteado, where he prevailed by a head over Bizarrap (Forge, 52.5kg)—also reopposing here and very much a live threat.

Following that effort, Filoso Class finished fifth behind El Luciano (Il Campione) in the Clásico Aristophanes, with Bizarrap once again right there, confirming his upward trend under weight-for-age conditions. Carrying a feather impost, the Omar Labanca trainee will be looking to take another step forward.

Although he has been campaigning mainly around turns, the current form of Mario’s Rim (Remote, 56kg) makes him hard to ignore, even if he has yet to score down the straight. Qué Vida Yankee (Qué Vida Buena, 52.5kg) also comes in with a light weight and solid momentum, having rattled off back-to-back wins—first at Palermo and then at La Plata.

Rounding out the field, New Jamalero (Lenovo, 52.5kg) has shown a higher level in the past than he is displaying now, while El Paradigma (Il Campione, 54kg) returns from a lengthy layoff, still seeking to live up to the lofty expectations that have long surrounded him.