Bichita de Luz is carrying top weight, but she is the one to beat in the Handicap Carapálida

The daughter of Fragotero will carry 61 kilos in the very weak card to be held this Monday at the Hipódromo de Palermo

Bichita de Luz has finished second in 5 of her last 6 starts / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

It seems that racing fans in Argentina are condemned to endure the abysmal programming of the main racetracks which, so far this year, have put together mostly cards of very low technical quality.

The streak will continue this Monday at Palermo, where out of the 12 races included in the program, only the Handicap Carapálida (1,200 m, dirt)—for winning mares 4 years old and up, which attracted only 6 participants—is worth noting.

The occasion may prove favorable for Bichita de Luz (Fragotero) to snap her long series of near-misses, despite having to carry a demanding 61 kilos. With 5 second-place finishes in her last 6 starts, the grey is coming off a 2 1/2-length runner-up effort behind Rugiente (Il Campione) in the Clásico Jorge A. Ricardo.

Crossing her path is the experienced Ataka (Señor Candy, 60 1/2), who has just rediscovered the winner's circle by taking the Especial Handicap El Centauro.

Carrying a light weight of 52 1/2 units, Rumba Feroz (Hurricane Cat) will compete; sharpened by Juan Carlos and Juan Sebastián Maldotti, she will make her first stakes attempt following a couple of close finishes in conditional races.

One of the horses that defeated her was A La Vista (Angiolo, 56 1/2), who subsequently finished second to Joy Traviesa (Fortify) in the Handicap Borobeta and will also be in the starting gates now.

A half-sister to Nanda Dea (Fortify) and Nanabush (Il Campione), Naimabad (Il Campione, 55) brings a fifth-place finish in the Clásico Aníbal D. Etchart—4 1/4 lengths behind Vieja Amiga Mask (Mask)—and will now try to move up a notch.