Fletcher Made It Look Easy in the Cané and Will Enter the Polla as One of the Favorites

In a superb performance, bouncing back completely from his unplaced effort in the Estrellas Juvenile (G1) on the turf, the colt carrying the colors of Stud Chos Malal won effortlessly by 6 lengths

Robate Un Beso (Uncle Chuck) had already flown from off the pace to capture the Clásico General Luis María Campos (G2), and Equal Mostaza (Equal Stripes) had put on a masterclass in grit to lead a 1-2-3 sweep for trainer Carlos D. Etchechoury in the Clásico Comparación (G2).

Yet, as if those moments of brilliance were not enough, Saturday afternoon at Hipódromo Palermo still held an even greater spectacle in store: Fletcher delivering a display of total dominance to claim the Clásico Miguel Cané(G2-1,600 m, dirt) and automatically stamping himself as one of the key contenders heading into the Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos (G1), the race that on the 5th of next month will kick off the 2026 Triple Crown alongside its filly counterpart.

Once again, the strategy of grouping major stakes races on a single card proved a resounding success. The crowd responded in kind and the numbers added up, with the day's handle verging on 1 billion pesos.

Closing out the advertised stakes tripleheader that far exceeded expectations—and featured live broadcasting by Global Media Turf (GMT)—the son of Gershwin (Distorted Humor) bounced back in resounding fashion from the misstep he suffered a few weeks ago when shifting to the turf for the Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile (G1).

Previously a comfortable winner of the Clásico Pedro Goenaga (G2) at La Plata, the Juan Saldivia trainee proved that on dirt—at least for now—he is twice the horse, looming large over the 9 rivals that lined up against him—with only El Gibson (Uncle Chuck) scratched—in what was a demanding field.

Completing a stakes double of his own, having earlier captured the Comparación, jockey Kevin Banegas encountered no trouble positioning the Haras La Pasión-bred colt in a relaxed third, while Kenakir (Il Campione) set the pace with Mr Morris (Gouverneur Morris) tracking in second.

The winner was already rounding them up on the far turn, needing little time to seize control upon entering the stretch before putting on a show the rest of the way. He drew off by several lengths and even had time to save energy in the final strides, crossing the wire in a hand ride.

The chart reflected a 6-length margin over outsider Linguado (Cosmic Trigger), though it could have been considerably more had Banegas asked for it. Another 4 lengths back, the maiden Paulo Sil (Treasure Beach) completed the trifecta.

While Fletcher stood out as the star of the show, other notable names failed to live up to expectations. Off a layoff, The Great Terms (The Great Day) lost his unbeaten record in fifth, though the rustiness likely took its toll. Lunfardo(Daddy Long Legs), coming off a victory in the Old Man (G3), suffered early traffic trouble, dropped far back, and could never recover, finishing sixth. Kenakir felt the tempo and the pressure of setting the pace, fading to seventh, 18 1/2 lengths adrift, while Emotion Prize (Emotion Orpen)—who had finished second to Colorado del Monte(Strategos) in the Juvenile—fared even worse, coming home second-to-last, beaten more than 35 lengths.

Fletcher stopped the clock in an extraordinary 1m36s28/100, 2s12/100 faster than the time recorded by Robate Un Beso in the Campos. The Stud Chos Malal standout now points to the Polla de Potrillos in just over a month's time, where he will clash with the aforementioned division leader Colorado del Monte in a showdown that simply cannot be missed.