El Éxito, Undisputed King of the Mile at Palermo, Repeats in the G1 OSAF

The Il Campione colt repeated his 2024 triumph with another strong performance, drawing off to defeat Storm Sound by two lengths

El Éxito has now racked up four consecutive victories over the Palermo dirt / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

The mile division at Palermo has a clear-cut leader in El Éxito, who headlined a spectacular Thursday at the Hipódromo Argentino by capturing the Gran Premio de las Américas - OSAF (G1, 1600m, dirt) for the second year in a row. In doing so, the son of Il Campione joined a select group of back-to-back winners that includes Iberal (Ibero, 2001–02) and El Garufa (Luhuk, 2009–10), while also emulating Todo Un Amiguito (Mutakddim), who accomplished his double in non-consecutive years (2013, 2015).

With a flawless campaign through the first four months of the season, El Éxito once again proved a class apart in the division, responding in kind to his heavy favoritism and returning a slim 1.55-1.

Ridden with supreme confidence by Francisco Leandro, the representative of Stud F. Enrique shadowed pacesetter Storm Sound (Hi Happy) from the outset, applying pressure early and often. That pressure began to pay dividends as the field straightened for home.

The chestnut seized command in upper stretch and pulled away with measured authority, though without the daylight margin he posted in his Benito Villanueva (G2) romp. Storm Sound held gamely for second, just two lengths behind the winner and narrowly ahead of a tightly packed group led by Folie Ninja (Hat Ninja), Descamisado (Fortify), and Fiolo Boss (Holy Boss).

Adding extra gloss to the victory was a strong final time of 1:34.60, with splits of :23.61, :46.70, and 1:10.34—truly testing fractions.

Full credit goes to trainer José Cristóbal Blanco, who succeeded in bringing the Haras El Paraíso-bred colt back to his top form—the same that had dazzled fans a year ago. Unbeaten over Palermo’s dirt, his next logical target is the Gran Premio Estrellas Mile (G1), though connections would need to supplement him into the series.

They opted to do so last year, albeit on the turf at San Isidro, where things didn’t pan out. This time, back on his preferred surface, the outcome could be very different.