Don Ritual and Elvitas added notable victories over the slop

The horse and the filly scored against multiple winners, with stakes company once again looming on the horizon

Don Ritual (left) proved best over Giant Rimout in a thrilling finish / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

Despite heavy track conditions, Friday’s card at Hipódromo de San Isidro featured several noteworthy performances, with Don Ritual and Elvitas emerging as standouts among the afternoon’s conditional winners.

Dropping out of stakes company, Don Ritual (Daddy Long Legs–Doña Varita, by Intérprete) showed grit and class to take the Premio Al Altísimo, a 1400-meter contest on the dirt for 4-year-olds with two or three prior wins. Bred by Haras San Benito and trained by Carlos D. Etchechoury, the chestnut colt engaged in a stirring stretch-long duel with Giant Rimout (Remote) before edging past his rival by a hard-fought half-head at the wire. The final time of 1:23.66 over the slop was particularly notable. Fabricio Barroso guided the winner with precision.

No less brave was Elvitas (Cosmic Trigger–Excellent Bid, by Contested Bid), a filly with a strong reputation and multiple stakes appearances to her name. Competing in the Premio Lord Alex, a 1600-meter event for fillies and mares with two or three wins, the Haras La Madrina homebred tracked pacesetter Editamela (Cosmic Trigger) before slipping through an opening on the rail—an inside path rarely used under such conditions—and striking the front. Trained by José Lofiego for Stud M. de G., and ridden confidently by Wilson Moreyra, she had to dig deep late to hold off South Briole (South Kissing) by a length in 1:37.44.

In another division of the same class over 1100 meters, Holly Valley (Homage–Valley Girl, by Bernstein), bred by Haras Don Yeye, posted her fourth career win by a narrow half-length over Naja (Fortify) in 1:04.75. Apprentice Wilfrido Torres Maldonado teamed up effectively with trainer Héctor S. Rodríguez to bring the filly home.

Rounding out the afternoon in the male counterpart of the Premio Princesa Lake, the Premio Yuto Bataraz Key, Cosa e Mandinga (Qué Vida Buena–Trinity Girl, by Greenspring) justified his favoritism with a gutsy victory for Haras Don Florentino, narrowly denying Golden Jet (Bodemeister) by half a neck in 1:04.74.