Quero Te Mucho gives Haras Phillipson another victory in the Sao Paulo
- Turf Diario
- May 4
- 2 min read
The son of Going Somewhere, that surprising Pellegrini hero, shone in a great finish on the Cidade Jardim turf
SÃO PAULO, Brazil (Special for Turf Diario).— The epic of Paulista racing wrote one of its most vibrant pages this Sunday on the Cidade Jardim turf. In a closing charge that defied all logic, the runner Quero Te Mucho emerged like lightning in the final meters to seal the 103rd edition of the Grande Prêmio São Paulo - BTG Pactual (G1), the ultimate event of racing in São Paulo.
Under a precision-perfect ride by Fernando Larroque, the defender of the Haras Phillipson silks achieved what seemed impossible halfway down the home straight. While Zandor (Synchrony) and Que Emoção (Synchrony) engaged in a fierce duel that appeared to define the contest, the son of Going Somewhere—that remembered hero of the 2012 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini—closed the gap at a dizzying pace from thirteenth position to dominate in the final breath, stopping the clock at 2m26s47/100 for the 2400 meters of soft grass.
The victory represents the definitive consecration for Benjamin Steinbruch's team. Bred at the Haras Phillipsonestablishment, Quero Te Mucho is a son of the Uruguayan mare Gateaux (T.H. Approval), highlighting the quality of the bloodlines the stud has managed to blend. This marks the second conquest for the stable in this race, with 28 years having passed since that initial celebration with Quari Bravo (Punk) in 1998.
On the professional front, emotion was the common denominator. Thiago Haidar, one of the most respected and beloved trainers in Brazil, finally added the trophy every Paulista conditioner yearns for to his showcase. His gratitude and tears after the finish line explained the magnitude of the achievement on their own. For his part, jockey Fernando Larroquedemonstrated astonishing technical coolness, saving his mount's energy for the final drive in a head-and-toe finish that was settled by just a neck between the top three.
The development of the contest had the typical rigor of a G1. The willing Vero Lux (Can the Man) dictated the pace followed by Cacique São Sepe (Goldikovic), while the field traveled compactly until entering the straight. It was there that Zandor sought glory on the inside and Que Emoção—under the whip of Valdinei Gil—seemed to settle the matter down the center of the track. However, they did not count on the overwhelming advance of Quero Te Mucho, who transformed the finish into a tactical masterpiece.
With this victory, his seventh in total and third at the stakes level following his successes in the Grande Premio Ministério da Agricultura (G2) and the Grande Premio Consagração (G3), Quero Te Mucho enters through the front door into the select roll of Grande Premio São Paulo winners. In a weekend that featured 26 races and an extraordinary crowd, Quero Te Mucho reminded everyone why turf remains the sport of impossible finishes.
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