Amor de Contramano Charms Again, Eyes Drive Joy Next

The gray colt from Las Canarias delivered a sparkling performance to capture the G2 Clásico Miguel Cané and will now target the G1 Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos, where a potential rematch with Firmamento’s standout could be in the cards

Amor de Contramano All Alone at the Finish in the Clásico Miguel Cané / HAPSA

The packed grandstands at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo couldn’t have asked for a better show than the one delivered Saturday in the G2 Clásico Miguel Cané, where Amor de Contramano reaffirmed his considerable talent, erased the bitter taste left by his defeat to Drive Joy (Fortify) in the G1 Estrellas Juvenile, and firmly stamped himself as a leading contender for the upcoming G1 Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos.

Over a mile of heavy dirt in the Argentine capital, the son of Gouverneur Morris turned in a flawless front-running performance, dominating a solid group of 3-year-olds with remarkable ease. It was a display reminiscent of the explosive effort that shot him to prominence on May 1, when he crushed the field in the G1 Gran Premio Montevideo.

There’s no questioning Drive Joy’s quality—he showed it in full during the Fundación Equina Argentina’s main event—but it’s also fair to note that Amor de Contramano missed a few crucial days of training ahead of that showdown, after a bout of colic forced him briefly to the sidelines.

That short disruption to his preparation proved costly at the highest level, and after reviewing the race, his connections concluded that the colt is at his best when allowed to run freely from the jump. That’s exactly the plan jockey William Pereyra executed on Saturday.

Seconds into the race, the heavy favorite had already opened up daylight on his rivals, with Hi Scottish (Hi Happy), Liberto (Hurricane Cat), and Full Keynote (Full Mast) giving chase in vain. After sharp early splits of :24.34 and :47.42, Amor de Contramano strung out the field and never looked back. Shifting toward the center of the track at the top of the stretch, he widened his advantage and made his 1.10-1 odds look like a gift.

From the 300-meter mark to the wire, it was a procession for the Stud Las Canarias representative—also campaigned in partnership with Stud Rubio B.—who crossed the line six lengths clear of the game Liberto. Another head back, Gardel Pass (Distinctiv Passion) earned a respectable third, while the rest of the field finished well behind, with Jazz Disfrute (Hi Happy) a distant fifth, nine lengths adrift.

The clock added further weight to the performance, stopping at 1:35.21—significantly quicker than the time posted later in the day by Moon Frank (Gidu) in winning the G2 Clásico General Luis María Campos. As was the case in both the Montevideo/Atucha split and the Estrellas Juvenile features, the boys again proved considerably faster than their female counterparts.

Bred by Haras La Pasión and trained by Juan Saldivia, Amor de Contramano is out of Anelada (Stormy Atlantic), a product of Haras La Madrugada and a half-sister to both champion Anaerobio (Catcher In the Rye) and stakes winner Albanesi (Violence), now a top sprinter in Argentina’s interior circuits.

His third dam, Aplanatín (Cautín), was a top-class miler for Haras El Tori, and her lineage traces back to Minallon(Flag Down), winner of the G2 Polla de Potrancas at La Plata in 2005.

By bouncing back emphatically from an unexpected defeat, Amor de Contramano has only enhanced his reputation—and set the stage for a must-see clash with Drive Joy in the Polla de Potrillos. With the Triple Crown about to begin, another electric atmosphere at Palermo seems inevitable, with fans likely to once again fill the stands and leave with memories that last a lifetime.