Labrado will look to equal Wally's record in the Estrellas Sprint and capture his fourth Estrella title
- Turf Diario
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
The three-time sprint champion is aiming to make history this Saturday down the straight at the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo

By Diego H. Mitagstein
Like the wind knowing exactly where to blow, like time itself holding on to memory, some names return again and again to the same place to leave their mark. In the Carreras de las Estrellas—one of the brightest stages of Argentine racing—certain echoes keep sounding, glorious and familiar. A few have done it twice. Only one has reached three wins. This Saturday at Palermo, Labrado will try to step into that exclusive club—and perhaps open a door no one has ever crossed before.
The son of Le Blues stands one step away from something unprecedented: if he captures the Estrellas Sprint (G1, 1000m, dirt) once again, it would be his fourth victory in the series—an unmatched feat in its 35-year history. He won the Junior Sprint in 2022, and then back-to-back editions of the Sprint in 2023 and 2024. No one has gone this far. No one has shone so brightly.
But there is a legend to mirror. Her name is Wally, and her record still hangs in the sky like a constellation. Between 1995 and 1997, the daughter of Southern Halo, bred by Haras La Quebrada, won three straight runnings of the Estrellas Sprint. She was, and still is, the only horse to claim three consecutive victories in a single race within the festival. Labrado stands at the threshold. If he crosses it, he’ll match her streak—and surpass her in total wins. A new chapter is waiting to be written.
Labrado hasn’t just won—he has dominated. In 2023, he exploded down the center of the track. In 2024, he repeated with authority, affirming his status as the division’s king. Each time his name appears in the entries, memories awaken and expectations soar. This Saturday, under the guidance of regular rider Wilson Moreyra and trainer Angel Bonetto, he will burst from the gate in search of his place in racing history.
Only four horses have ever won the same Estrellas race twice: Wally, Labrado, El Compinche—another Southern Halo from La Quebrada, who won the Classic in 1996 and 1998, the only one to do so with a year between wins; Ollagua (Pure Prize), La Providencia’s champion mare, who captured the Distaff in 2009 and 2010; and Elogiado(Archipenko), another brilliant sprinter, victorious in 2018 and 2019.
This elite group, defined by consistency and brilliance, shaped the history of a series born in 1989 and first run in 1991 to honor the best. But if Labrado flies once more beneath the lights at Palermo, he’ll become the first four-time winner—seizing a record that may stand the test of time. Because winning once at the Estrellas is difficult. Doing it twice is memorable. Three times? Legendary. Four? Unthinkable.
The comparison with the Breeders’ Cup—after which the Estrellas were modeled—is inevitable. There, only a handful have managed to repeat, and just one has claimed the same race three years in a row: the unforgettable Goldikova(Anabaa), in the Mile from 2008 to 2010. Like Wally. Like Labrado might.
The Estrellas have often been the scene of fleeting glory—but also of sustained dominance. It takes resilience. Hunger. The will to rise again and again. Labrado has done it. And this Saturday, he could make history.
When the gates fly open and the timer starts ticking, it won’t be just another race. It will be an attempt to write a new line in a story that, after 35 years, still has space for poetry. Labrado will chase his fourth Estrella. And if he gets it, it’ll feel like the sky itself opened just a bit wider to let him through.

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