Master of Puppets Earns Asamblea de la Florida Title; Connections Eye Latino and Another Pellegrini Start
- Turf Diario
- Aug 4, 2025
- 2 min read
The Stud San Pedro colorbearer was awarded victory via disqualification at Maroñas, and his owner is now weighing two main options for the future
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Special for Turf Diario).- Bit by bit, Master of Puppets (Brz) is regaining the spotlight he enjoyed at Maroñas just a few months ago. Returning from a layoff, the 4-year-old resumed with a win in Sunday’s G3 Clásico Asamblea General de la Florida (2200m, turf)—albeit via the stewards’ booth.
The son of Put It Back, owned by Stud Haras San Pedro, originally crossed the wire second, beaten 3/4 of a length by Native Extreme (Emcee), who veered out in the final strides, carrying out Sandigold (Wild Take Charge). The interference ultimately affected Master of Puppets as well, prompting the disqualification of Native Extreme and elevating the Facundo Santesteban trainee to first place.
Bred by Haras Santa María de Araras in Brazil and ridden by Pablo Rodríguez, the dark bay is no stranger to elite company. He ran with credit in both the 2023 G1 Gran Premio Jockey Club and the 2024 G1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini at San Isidro, finishing ninth and fifth, respectively. He hadn’t raced since a disappointing try over dirt in the G1 Gran Premio José Pedro Ramírez on January 6.
“We tried him on dirt, but it didn’t suit him—he’s a turf horse through and through,” said owner Roberto Faniel. “Facundo decided to give him time, and he came back in great shape. He was at 100% today. Now we’ve got a ticket to the Gran Premio Latinoamericano, and a return to Argentina for the Pellegrini is also on the table. We’ll see how he comes out of this and what the team decides.”
Jockey Rodríguez added: “It was a tricky race. We wanted to stay on the inside, but space was tight. In the stretch, it was like a wall in front of me with a full tank of horse, so I had to angle out. He really finished strongly. I thought the objection was fair—while the winner didn’t foul me directly, he forced me off my line. It’s never nice to win this way, nobody likes to lose a race in the stewards’ room, but those are the rules.”
The Sunday program at Maroñas also featured two other turf stakes for juveniles. The card opened with the Clásico Antonio Marsiglia (1600m), where Tantan Royal (Midshipman–Leca Princess, by T.H. Approval), representing Haras Phillipson, captured the prize for trainer Antonio Cintra (saddled by Jorge Rey) with Héctor Lazo aboard.
Later, the Clásico Pablo Falero (1600m) for colts went the way of Ave Royale (Sloane Avenue), who defeated Ministry Intrigue (Goldikovic) by 1 1/4 lengths. He carried the famed Invasor (Candy Stripes) colors of Stud 3 de enero, and is trained by Sebastián San Martín, with Javier Pérez in the irons.
The weekend belonged to Master of Puppets, but bigger questions—and bigger races—await. With his sights set on the Latinoamericano and a possible rematch in the Carlos Pellegrini, the recovering star may yet prove that, at his best, no goal is out of reach.
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