Gustavo Romero and El Chuchy Strike Twice in Just 48 Hours

Following Burgess Shale’s Wednesday Win, Puro de Cuba Shines in San Isidro’s Handicap Pronto

Wide Late Run as Puro de Cuba Nips Favorite El Cobra Kai at the Wire/ JUAN I. BOZZELLO

For the second straight meeting, the same connections took center stage at Hipódromo de San Isidro. On Wednesday, Burgess Shale (Safety Check) captured the Handicap Picacero, and on Friday, Puro de Cuba (54kg) delivered a surprise victory in the Handicap Pronto (1800m, dirt), both trained by Gustavo Romero for Stud El Chuchy.

Although Burgess Shale carried the Stud Paca-Paca silks, he alternates with the colors of Olindo Mansilla, a longstanding owner whose familiar silks were carried by G1 winner Pepe Joy (Fortify), among other talented runners.

For Puro de Cuba, this win marked a confidence boost after months of underwhelming efforts. Earlier in 2024, he had been a regular contender in stakes company, finishing second in the América (G2), third in the Forli (G2), República Federativa del Brasil (G3), and Japón (L), among other strong performances.

The son of Long Island Sound had finished fifth in his comeback race just over a month ago, tightening up from that effort to reel in heavy favorite El Cobra Kai (Cosmic Trigger, 59.5kg) in the final stride here, benefiting from a 5.5kg weight pull.

Both Puro de Cuba and El Cobra Kai tracked early pacesetter Gritona Re (Safety Check, 50kg), who set solid fractions of 25.58, 49.31, and 1:13.60. In the stretch, El Cobra Kai forged to the front, but Puro de Cuba launched a determined late bid to nail him right on the wire by half a head. Uqayr (Hat Trick, 53kg) rallied strongly for third, just half a length behind, with Touch the Stars (Fortify, 59kg) another half-length back in fourth after running along the inside. The final time was 1:48.70.

Ridden with precision by Francisco Lavigna, Puro de Cuba was bred by Haras Abolengo and is out of Pure Deputy(Silver Deputy). The bay recorded his fourth career victory from 19 starts, regaining direction in his campaign as connections now hope he will return to stakes company in the second half of the season.