Charm switches to the grass at Palermo, eyeing a victory in the Gilberto Lerena
- Turf Diario
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
The top-rated 3-year-old filly of 2025 makes her debut on the inner turf course, putting her immense talent on display...
A star-studded Saturday at Palermo kicks off with the distaffers taking center stage in the Gran Premio Gilberto Lerena (G1). Contested at 1 3/8 miles on the turf, the race serves as a crucial second leg of the Campeonato de Oro and features an intriguing international invader in Uruguay’s Patriótica (Trinniberg).
All eyes will be on Charm, the presumptive favorite for Horse of the Year honors at the Carlos Pellegrini Awards. The Strategos filly made a triumphant return to the races last out in the Clásico Arturo R. y Arturo Bullrich (G2), showing no rust from a lengthy layoff. A winner of three Group 1s last term—the Potrancas, Estrellas Juvenile Fillies, and the Selección—she makes her highly anticipated debut on the Palermo inner turf on Saturday.
The Triple Alliance standout faces stiff competition from the rapidly improving Miss Talento (Equal Talent). Conditioned to peak form, she enters on a three-race win streak that includes a dominant performance in the Clásico Juan Shaw (G2). While proven on other surfaces, her ability to handle the local grass remains the primary question mark.
Portal Maya (Portal del Alto) also looms as a major threat. Although third to Charm in the Bullrich, she previously took the Clásico Apertura (G2) over this very course and distance. In that effort, she handled returning rivals Miss Kalima (Seahenge) and Doña Lucila (Equal Talent) with ease.
The field is rounded out by the ultra-consistent Romana Craf (Mastercraftsman) and the Uruguayan visitor Patriótica. The latter represents the high-profile La Concordia interests, the same connections responsible for the successful cross-border raids of Demi Moore (Agnes Gold), suggesting she must be taken seriously in her Argentinian debut.
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