Filoso Class gets his revenge on Bizarrap, but Aires de Gloria has other ideas

A brief Saturday card awaits at Palermo, highlighted by the Clásico Aristophanes and the season’s first 2-year-old debutants on the dirt

Filoso Class, experience and current form / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

Will it become a trend? Or is it just a seasonal thing? Once again, a short program is on tap at the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo, this time on racing’s marquee day—Saturday—with the Clásico Aristophanes (1000m, dirt) serving as the card’s main event. Likely to be run over wet going, the race is open to horses aged four and up under a weight-for-age scale.

The meeting, which will also feature the season’s first 2-year-old debuts on the main track, shapes up as moderate to modest in overall quality—another increasingly common indicator in Argentina, where stagnant purses have now fully contributed to the perfect storm.

Scheduled as the ninth race at 7:30 p.m., the Aristophanes has drawn nine confirmed runners. Once again on equal weights, Filoso Class (Filoso Emperor) and Bizarrap (Forge) renew their rivalry after finishing first and second—separated by just half a length—in the Handicap Sorteado.

That day, however, the winner carried 59 kilos while his rival received only 51. Logically, the story should now be far more straightforward, but the dark bay from Heritage Stud has been showing encouraging progress and promises to make life difficult again for the favorite—especially if the race develops at the strong tempo most expect.

After an unproductive outing in the Gran Premio Suipacha (G1), Aires de Gloria (Angiolo) drops back into far friendlier conditions, over a level where he has already proven himself—winning both the Clásico Prensa Hípica (L) and the Handicap Día del Médico Veterinario, while also finishing a solid third in the Clásico Diamond Jubilee.

Now nine years old, París Tech (Luhuk) continues to defy time, as evidenced when he finished runner-up to Aires de Gloria in the Día del Médico Veterinario a little over three months ago. Meanwhile, Tex for Sale (Nashville Texan) comes in off a confidence-boosting return to the winner’s circle and must be considered.

If Alfanito Top (Maipo Top) turns in his best, he is capable of figuring prominently, while El Luciano (Il Campione) simply cannot be ignored, arriving off three consecutive victories.