Buen Escocés drops in class to face tough rivals in the Especial Val D'Or

The son of Bodemeister is coming off an appearance in the Gran Premio República Argentina (G1) and boasts a strong track record

As is nearly every Wednesday, the Hipódromo de San Isidro will offer a card with rather low quality, though,fortunately, between Friday and Saturday everything will pivot 180 degrees to welcome the Carreras de las Estrellasfestival. With 13 races carded, the feature will be the Especial Val D'Or, a one-mile contest on the dirt for 5-year-olds and up with at least three victories, offering a derisory winner's prize of 5,125,000 pesos.

This represents a sharp drop in class for the very consistent Buen Escosés (Bodemeister, 58kg), who will attempt to return to winning ways after recovering from an expected setback in the Gran Premio República Argentina (G1). Prior to that, the Juan Saldivia trainee had won the Especial El Serrano here with great authority and achieved a highly commendable fifth-place finish in the Gran Premio de Honor (G1), finishing 3 lengths behind Butterfing (Angiolo) and slightly closer to Need You Tonight (Hat Ninja), who later became the hero on May 1 and is one of the top contenders for next Saturday's G1 Estrellas Classic.

Such form must be respected to the utmost, even against the solid credentials brought by the reliable Western Orpen (Orpen, 56). The Las Monjitas representative ran outstandingly in his comeback, finishing a 1 1/2-length second to Quality Boy (Asiatic Boy) in the Especial Full Sail.

In high spirits after easily securing his fifth victory in allowance company, Tryman (Safety Check, 58) returns to stakes level, where he has already performed well on a couple of occasions. A talented but physically delicate horse, Kavac (Cityscape, 58) enters fresh off an allowance win and returns to a class where he has already celebrated victories; if his health permits, he will be as tough as any. Adding further quality to the field is Che Vivi (Manipulator, 60), who snapped a streak of six consecutive runner-up finishes by placing fourth just a few days ago at Palermo. Finally, Stormy Wind (Forge, 58) defeated Tryman in their most recent encounter and could pull off an upset if the race shape plays to his favor.