Personal Filly Goes for the Güiraldes, Launching the Road to the Polla de Potrancas

After finishing runner-up to Gran Gotera in the Gran Premio Jorge de Atucha (G1), the daughter of Dabster returns to the fray in search of her maiden stakes victory

The final road leading to the Gran Premio Polla de Potrancas (G1) on the Palermo dirt track kicks off this Saturday with the running of the traditional Clásico Manuel J. Güiraldes (G3) over 1,400 meters.

While many might not know it, this race was strictly reserved for colts until 1994. Slava (Bold Second), with Horacio Karamanos in the irons, became the first filly to lift the trophy. She paved the way for a stellar list of female winners who would make history for various reasons, including the likes of Fontal (Southern Halo), Beauty Halo (Southern Halo), Illegally Blonde (Southern Halo), and more recently, Nanabush (Il Campione).

For its 2026 renewal, the Güiraldes has assembled a field of 10 sophomore fillies, most of whom are looking to establish themselves at the graded level after recently graduating from the maiden ranks.

The undisputed class of the field is Personal Filly (Dabster). Owned by Wilgerbosdrift and conditioned by Juan Saldivia, the chestnut filly harbors strong ambitions of returning to the winner's circle. Following a brilliant debut victory, she tackled the elite in the Gran Premio Jorge de Atucha (G1), where she finished a commendable second behind an unyielding Gran Gotera (Made You Look)—who subsequently proved her versatile dominance on the turf by landing the Gran Premio de Potrancas (G1).

Foto Increíble (Gouverneur Morris) made a splash by winning at first asking over this track, defeating The Great Court (The Great Nistel) by two lengths, with Antolina (Remote) back in third. Both of the latter bounce back quickly, having since broken their maidens, and will also line up in the starting gates on Saturday.

Graded stakes winners during the juvenile select period at La Plata, Candy Unica (Señor Candy) and Salema (Il Mercato) will try to leverage their extensive racing experience at the provincial oval as they seek success in new horizons.

Haras Firmamento holds a strong hand with the aforementioned The Great Court, but the promising Forty's Rim(Remote), who scored a flawless debut victory, will provide formidable backup. Another runner commanding serious attention is Holly (Nicholas), who romped by seven lengths in the Carreras de las Estrellas edition in Tucumán and now carries the hopes of an entire province. Meanwhile, Fly Cast (Made You Look) cannot be overlooked after an extremely solid maiden-breaking score on the San Isidro turf.

Rounding out the competitive field is Achispada (Have At It), who failed to spark in the Gran Premio de Potrancas but previously put together a string of excellent performances, including strong runs in the Atucha, the Clásico Derli A. Gómez (G3), and the Clásico Fortunato Damiani (G3), with the latter two coming at La Plata.