Portal Maya, taking his first step into stakes company, at San Isidro
- Turf Diario
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
After winning by eight lengths at Palermo, she heads into the Handicap Nigromante carrying a light impost
Coming off the excitement that swept La Plata on Thursday with the Gran Premio Dardo Rocha (G1) meeting, racing in Argentina returns to its usual rhythm with a new, unusually scheduled Thursday program at the Hipódromo de San Isidro.
A total of 16 races are on tap, headlined by the Handicap Nigromante, staged over 1800 meters on the dirt and reserved for mares aged five and up, with the winner earning a modest purse of 5,800,000 pesos.
With Lost Beach (Treasure Beach) scratched, a field of eight will line up, and the race may offer an ideal opportunity for Portal Maya (Portal del Alto) to make her mark at a higher level. Carrying a light 53 kilograms and entrusted to apprentice Martín Montoya, she impressed greatly when defeating Scarletta (USA, Gun Runner) by eight lengths at Palermo—and she looks ready for more.
At the opposite end of the weight scale, Miss Talento (Equal Talent, 58) will shoulder top weight. She showed real grit winning the Handicap Mouchette at Palermo before finishing fourth—albeit 15 lengths behind Knows All (Le Blues)—in the G2 Los Haras on heavy turf.
Winning four in a row is no simple feat, yet that is exactly the streak Celestial (In the Dark, 54) brings into the Nigromante; a victory would earn her a second seasonal Trébol bonus.
Completing the shortlist of candidates is Emma Novela (Emmanuel, 55), who missed narrowly behind Miss Talento in the Mouchette and later finished fifth in the G3 Chile and fourth in the Handicap Miss Grillo.
