Pablo Sahagián: “They’ll Have to Run to Beat Forgging; He’s Coming In Fantastic”

El entrenador muestra confianza grande en el ganador del Ensayo de cara al Gran Premio Jockey Club

Pablo Sahagián (right) shows confidence in his colt / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

By Diego H. Mitagstein

Pablo Sahagián has twice come agonizingly close to winning the Gran Premio Jockey Club (G1). In 2014, his colt Feliche (Perfectperformance) finished second, three lengths behind Blues Traveler (Equal Stripes), trained by his longtime mentor Roberto Pellegatta. Two years later, Puerto Escondido (Hurricane Cat), still a maiden at the time, wound up fourth behind He Runs Away (Heliostatic), after encountering significant traffic trouble.

“Feliche was beaten fair and square, but Puerto Escondido could have won—that day we were just unlucky,” Sahagián recalled with a smile. “Maybe this time the story turns around. I also rode the Jockey Club many times as a jockey and never won it either.”

The popular “Turco” returns to the 2025 renewal of the second jewel of Argentina’s Triple Crown with a major player in Forgging (Forge), who stamped his ticket by wiring the Clásico Ensayo (G3) over 1800 meters on the same San Isidro turf he will face again Saturday.

“My horse is doing really well, even better than for his last start,” Sahagián said. “I worked him 2000 meters and he went fantastic, so I think they’ll have to run to beat him.”

Forgging’s story has several twists. “I ran into the owner (Stud Kemar) at a La Providencia sale and he told me to pick a horse,” said Sahagián. “I liked this one. I sent him to the breaker Zurdo Monzón, and a month later he brought him back—I didn’t know what to do with him!” he laughed.

From there, patience was key. “We started trotting and taking things slow. He’s bred to go long, so I knew he wasn’t for the sprints. Eventually, we tried him in a debut over 800 meters and he won by daylight—they couldn’t pull him up,” he remembered.

But disaster nearly struck. “Twenty days later, while getting ready for the Clásico Antártida Argentina (G3 Kemmis), he colicked badly and was close to dying. He spent a week in the San Isidro Clinic but pulled through. It took time, but he came back even better.”

With Forgging, tactics are straightforward. “I picked post 1—perfect, isn’t it? He’s very quick out of the gates and can stay the trip. If someone wants the lead, he can sit just off them, no problem. Last time in the Ensayo they came to beat him, but they couldn’t,” Sahagián noted.

Among rivals, all eyes are on The Great Racing (The Great Day). “Last time he beat us fair, but we were softened up in front. Now he’s coming back, stretching out from a mile. My horse is at 100 percent, ready to run a really big race if everything goes right.”

Sahagián will also send out El Madrugador (Il Campione) in Saturday’s Gran Premio Suipacha (G1). “He’s inexperienced, but he’s very fast. He’s a beautiful horse, and we don’t know his ceiling yet. The only time he lost was when he tore an adductor. I think Bailarín de Venecia (Angiolo) is the horse to beat, but I go in with two very live chances,” he concluded.

For Sahagián, the Jockey Club remains unfinished business. Saturday, Forgging could be the one to finally deliver.