Butterfing made a powerful comeback, and the future awaits him with open arms

Inactive since his third-place finish in the Gran Premio Nacional (G1), the son of Angiolo overcame his layoff with a crushing victory over 2000 meters; now, on to the Campeonato de Oro

Kevin Banegas caresses Butterfing, who won spectacularly / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

That Juan Saldivia is one of the best trainers in the country is no news. Nor is it news that one of his qualities is analyzing the steps to follow with coldness, far from giving free rein to what enthusiasm dictates. He has already shown it on several occasions, and with Butterfing he did it again.

The grey that had impressed by winning the Clásico Julio F. Penna on his 2-year-old debut, and who had said goodbye with a notable third-place finish in the Gran Premio Nacional (G1), completed a formidable return to the ring this Monday at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo, suggesting that the future awaits him with open arms.

Behind his return, there is a story, and it is Saldivia himself who tells it: "He never had problems after the Derby, but he didn't end up the way I would have liked him to. He felt that race, as demanding as it always is, and one of the options I had was to go to Maroñas to run the Gran Premio José P. Ramírez (G1). But the reality is that I didn't see him reaching it at 100 percent and, taking into account the stress of the trip and the stress of the race, I preferred to give him a rest. We kept him light for a month and started his preparation with a view to being able to run this season's Campeonato Palermo de Oro."

Patience and a breather yielded results, as the son of Angiolo (quite a rarity that his offspring shine in such long distances) showed an improved version, confirming, at the same time, all the good things he had done before.

With Kevin Banegas in the irons, the 2000 meters of the Premio Brendan, for 3-year-old colts with 1 or 2 victories, were no race for Butterfing. At a price of $ 1.10, he made everything look very simple, winning from gate to wire and breezing for the money.

At the wire, he stretched an 8-length advantage over Emblematicu (Lucullan), in a time of 2m4s87/100, which is outstanding considering he was never fully extended and that the main track at Palermo is not exactly "flying."

Owned by Stud El Papi and bred by Haras San Lorenzo de Areco, Butterfing is a maternal brother to the G1 winner Cima de Areco (Cima de Triomphe) —who was also trained by Saldivia— and the G3-placed Confused (Lenovo) and De Vicenzo (Storm Surge), all out of the American mare Candy Milk (Candy Ride).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFNgqHSPb7c