Need You Tonight and Drive Joy: A showdown of champions in the Clásico Italia
The two-time Gran Premio República Argentina (G1) winner returns to his preferred surface to face off against the premier 2-year-old of 2025, who will tackle the 2000-meter distance for the very first time. Hop On, Adorado Rim, and Don Machete bring added depth to another of today's feature events at Palermo
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Special for Turf Diario).— Two champions from different generations, possessing careers built along distinctly different paths, will make the Clásico Italia (G3-2000m, dirt) one of the top attractions on Monday's spectacular card at Hipódromo Palermo. The race completes a graded double started by the Clásico Chile(G2) and features Need You Tonight (Hat Ninja) and Drive Joy (Fortify) as its central protagonists.
For Need You Tonight, the Italia represents a return to the conditions where he achieved his greatest triumphs. A two-time winner of the Gran Premio República Argentina (G1), he is coming off a sixth-place finish in the Clásico Comparación (G2) on the local turf—a surface on which he has never managed to score (nor has he done so at San Isidro).
Back on the dirt, his outlook changes completely. It is there that he established himself as a benchmark among older stayers, and he will now aim to regain the winning thread with a key prospective target looming on his calendar: the Gran Premio Dardo Rocha (G1), to be run on November 19 at La Plata. The 2000 meters of the Italia stand out as an ideal stepping stone along that path.
On the other side stands Drive Joy, the Champion 2-Year-Old Colt of 2025 and one of the most compelling horses currently in training. He enters in sensational form following a victory in the Clásico Perú (G2) over 1800 meters at Palermo. That performance confirmed that his class remains fully intact and that he is primed for even greater challenges.
A winner of the Gran Premio de las Américas-OSAF (G1), the Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile (G1), and the Clásico Raúl y Raúl E. Chevalier (G2), Drive Joy boasts a resume of top-level pedigree. However, he must answer one lingering question this time: he has never competed over 2000 meters. While possessing quality in abundance, he will have to prove he can sustain it over a distance that presents a new demand, and against a proven specialist.
Among the seven entries, Hop On (Endorsement) also commands attention, having finished a nose behind Drive Joyin the Perú in what was easily the signature performance of his career. For much of his campaign he competed primarily in handicaps, but at six years old he is enjoying a magnificent run of form and has proved he can go toe-to-toe with the division's best.
Respect is also due to Adorado Rim (Remote), whose form has elevated considerably since joining Juan Saldivia's barn. In his most recent outing, he captured the Clásico Engrillado by a head over Curious Song (Sixties Song), while Don Machete (Daddy Long Legs) finished third. The latter will cross paths with him once more, seeking to reverse that result.
Buen Escocés (Bodemeister), a veteran of broad experience, comes in following a second-place finish in a conditional event. While past performances suggest he faces a far stiffer assignment today, he will look to rely on his racecraft to outperform the odds.
At a point in the calendar where no G1 contests remain on the Palermo dirt, the Italia offers a confrontation of tremendous intrigue. Need You Tonight returns home with the Dardo Rocha potentially in his sights; Drive Joy looks to extend his dominance and prove 2000 meters is well within his reach. Two champions, one key question, and a race that promises to live up to the billing.
