Rey de la Calle returns to the Palermo straight track seeking redemption

The son of Che Micky returns to the dirt in the Clásico Aristophanes, where Ask for Wild, Chuck Spring, and Exclamación Pass fuel an open contest among sprinters looking to make a major leap in class

Sprinters will take center stage this Thursday in a lineup without major headline stars. The Clásico Aristophanes,contested over 1,000 meters on the Palermo dirt straight, will bring together seven horses aged 4 and older under weight-for-age conditions as the tenth race on the card, scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The race had to be reopened due to a scarcity of entries, but it ultimately assembled an attractive field with several contenders seeking a breakout performance. All runners will carry 60 kilos, leaving no advantage at the scales.

Rey de la Calle stands out as one of the primary references. The Azul-based runner returns to his preferred surface looking to erase a 12th-place finish in the Gran Premio Suipacha (G1) on the San Isidro turf. Despite that placing, he crossed the wire just 5 3/4 lengths behind Es Por Amor (Strategos).

Prior to that outing, the son of Che Micky finished second by 1 1/2 lengths behind Le Cornette (Emmanuel) in Palermo's Clásico Paraguay (G3), after stringing together four victories in his first four official starts. He lost his undefeated record, but not the respect earned by his raw speed. Jorge Peralta gets the call once again under the 60-kilo assignment.

His main threat may arrive from Rosario in the form of another sprinter riding excellent momentum. Ask for Wildtravels once more under the care of Daniel Cima, backed by a three-race winning streak that reflects his steady progression. His latest conquest came in the Handicap Día del Médico Veterinario, where he was forced to dig deep to defeat Lyon (Lenovo) by half a length. That gutsy finish spoke well of the son of Angiolo, who will be guided by William Pereyra as he steps up in class.

Among those also aiming to make a leap forward is Chuck Spring (Chuck Berry), another runner with strong credentials in interior sprint ranks. Winner of the Especial Antonio F. Manzone and the Encuentro Provincial Invierno, he arrives off solid performances in condition races and gets a timely chance to gauge his true ceiling against more seasoned opposition. He possesses plenty of tools to engineer an upset, even if recent form leaves him slightly behind the most proven runners.

Exclamación Pass (Distinctiv Passion) merits close attention. Trained by Fernando Garcés, he comes off a 1 1/2-length victory over Chuck Spring in an allowance race—a fresh and direct line of form. His stakes experience is considerably broader: he finished seventh in the Clásico Paraguay (G3), failed to make an impact in the Gran Premio Suipacha (G1), and during 2025 finished third in the Clásico Guillermo Kemmis (G3) as well as second, five lengths behind Le Cornette, in the 2025 edition of the Clásico Paraguay (G3). Now, with Brian Enrique in the irons, he will look to turn those credentials into a top-level victory.

Completing the lineup are Dom Rui (Storm Embrujado), El Angus (Nicholas), and Cao Viejo (Strategos), who appear a step below the primary contenders on paper. Of the three, Cao Viejo brings the most encouraging recent form,having finished a close second by just half a length to El Riel (Grand Reward) in allowance company—a performance worth keeping in mind.