El Cobra Kai Looks to Extend Winning Streak in Handicap Pronto

Juan Saldivia’s trainee comes in off a solid work and will face heavy hitters like Billion, El Darwin, and Touch the Stars

El Cobra Kai beat El Epecuén in a strong comeback effort / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

Friday racing at Hipódromo de San Isidro features a program marked by below-par quality, a frequent theme in more than half of its recent cards. The highlight will be the Handicap Pronto, a 1800-meter test on the auxiliary dirt track for horses five years and older, featuring several notable contenders.

A fast pace is expected, boosting the chances of El Cobra Kai, a son of Cosmic Trigger from Stud Juan Antonio, who just came back to win by 1 1/2 lengths over El Epecuén (Il Campione) in the mile of the Handicap Silurian.

Trained by Juan Saldivia and ridden by Francisco Leandro, El Cobra Kai will carry 59 1/2 kilos, 2 1/2 less than topweight Billion (Galicado), who returns after 392 days off, last seen finishing third behind the star El Kodigo (Equal Stripes) and G1 Treasure Island (Treasure Beach) in last year’s Clásico General Belgrano (G2).

Saldivia also has Fanático Pincha (Bodemeister, 53 1/2), coming off two consecutive conditional wins and receiving a generous weight allowance, aiming to capitalize on his good form.

Among the front runners will likely be El Darwin (Il Campione, 60 1/2), another top-weight, who shook off the rust with a win by a half-length over Manicura Rusa (Zensational) in a common race for multiple winners.

Second to the late Full Keid (Full Mast) in the 2024 Gran Premio 25 de Mayo (G1), Touch the Stars (Fortify, 59) showed some signs of life in the Handicap Jorge H. Iglesias and now drops in distance from 2400 meters to continue improving.

Classic experience is also present in El Pulque (Heliostatic, 55) and Con Exceso (Homage, 56), both mid-weight hopefuls aiming to be in the mix.

At Palermo, Valle Barún (Vástago Salvaje, 53 1/2) took the Handicap Your Majesty two starts back, and the filly Gritona Re (Safety Check, 60), running without weight allowance, is expected to be prominently placed early.