El Emporio delivered his best performance yet to capture the Carlos Gardel

The Il Campione colt outfinished Super Inter by four lengths to record the best win of his career

El Emporio finished strongly after a race of shifting tactics / HAPSA

A major upset unfolded in the Clásico Carlos Gardel (L, 1800 m, dirt), the feature race on a sunny Sunday at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo. Coming off two subpar local efforts and nearly three months off the track, El Emporio delivered the best performance of his career to score his most impressive victory to date.

The tango tribute featured a shifting and unpredictable pace, with several contenders taking turns at the front. Initially, the eventual winner El Emporio assumed the lead, only to be overtaken seconds later by Sabiyano (Fortify) in a surprising move, as the colt’s previous top results—a couple of graded wins in the south—had come from running off the pace.

Super Inter (Super Saver) raced close to the leaders and launched a bid around the turn to hit the stretch with the advantage, while Sabiyano’s tactical shift reduced his threat. El Emporio remained patient on the inside. Once in the stretch, the new pacesetter moved wide past midtrack, with Juan Cruz Villagra guiding the Il Campione colt even farther out, despite a clear inside path being available—clearly following the team’s instructions.

Super Inter continued to drift out, pushing El Emporio closer to the rail, but the Il Campione colt took control by the 200-meter mark and began to draw away, crossing the wire four lengths ahead of Super Inter, with Sabiyano completing the trifecta another four lengths back. The heavy favorite, Qué Tarde Gris (Il Campione), finished 12 lengths behind, showing again that stretching beyond a mile may be beyond his ability. The final time was 1:49.25.

Bred by Haras El Paraíso and owned by Stud Juan Martín, El Emporio is trained by Humberto Benesperi and now boasts five wins in 10 starts, with career earnings totaling $23,894,606.

A promising path now lies ahead for the Don Valiente (Orpen) grandson, who showed excellent form and appears ready for a couple more similar opportunities on Palermo’s dirt track.