Kevin Banegas Scores Four Wins and Closes In on the Top of the Overall Standings
- Turf Diario
- hace 13 horas
- 2 Min. de lectura
The jockey now sits at 252 wins on the season, moving to within 21 victories of Francisco Leandro, who continues to lead the standings
With Francisco Leandro nearing the end of his recovery from the accident he suffered a few weeks ago—and preparing for his upcoming trip to Dubai to ride at the International Carnival under contract with Sky Racing—Kevin Banegas has set his sights on claiming his first overall jockey championship.
And he is making a serious run at it. With a month and a half left in the season, the San Miguel del Monte–born rider delivered a sparkling four-win performance Sunday at San Isidro, pushing his tally to 252 victories, just 21 behindLeandro’s leading total of 273.
Banegas came out flying, sweeping the card’s opening two races with Rain Trigger (Cosmic Trigger) and Paso Nevado(Hi Happy). He later added wins aboard Lysva (Gouverneur Morris) and Western Orpen (Orpen) in the nightcap.
Among the day’s allowance events at the Jockey Club track, the highlights included victories by Engualichao (Roman Joy) and the aforementioned Lysva, both registering their second career wins at three.
Engualichao handled his return from a five-month layoff in style, having last been seen finishing sixth in the Clásico Manuel Anasagasti (L) in early June. He scored by 2 1/2 lengths over Desigual (Nicholas) in the 1400-meter Premio Tooru over wet dirt, stopping the clock in 1:23.57. The win kicked off a daily double for Stud Haras El Ángel de Venecia and jockey Eduardo Ortega Pavón, who later teamed up with Viejo Varieté (Qué Vida Buena) to take the Listed Embrujo. For trainer Carlos D. Etchechoury, it was the first leg of a three-win afternoon.
Next came the Premio Zillion Stars, for 3-year-old fillies with one previous win on a now-drying dirt track, where Lysvadelivered a sharp rebound after failing to meet expectations in the G2 Francisco J. Beazley. The Stud Rubio B. filly, trained by Juan C. Etchechoury (h.), took charge late to defeat Samba do Brazil (Springdom) by a length in 1:36.79.
Betting figures, however, were disappointing. Total handle reached ARS 441,431,029, averaging just ARS 27,589,439across 16 races.
