Señora Bagaces sprung the upset and Sebi Torres got the job done in the featured stakes

Two evenly-matched races, contrasting finishes, and a common thread: standout performances that left their mark on the wet track

Sebi Torres achieved his most important victory to date in the Especial Sideral / HLP

LA PLATA.- Señora Bagaces (Lizard Island, 55kg) and Sebi Torres (Orpen, 54kg) were the standout performers on a rainy Thursday afternoon at the Hipódromo de La Plata, capturing the Haras El Tala Special (1200m) and the Especial Sideral(1300m), respectively. While the mare delivered a surprise, the colt lived up to expectations as the betting favorite.

Making her stakes debut after competing in the allowance ranks, Señora Bagaces handled the class jump with ease in what appeared to be a wide-open affair on paper. With Daniel E. Arias — riding in top form — aboard, the mare broke alertly, dictated a measured pace of 24.33 and 47.78, and opened up in the stretch. Though Funny Polly (Astern, 52kg) made a late bid, the Capfrut S.A.-bred filly held her off by a length, stopping the clock in 1:11.91 over a wet track.

Trained by Miguel A. Forchetti and running for Stud F. Enrique, alongside stablemate El Exito (Il Campione), Señora Bagaces secured her fifth victory from 15 starts, adding valuable black-type credentials just shy of her sixth birthday.

In the Especial Sideral, Sebi Torres had to work harder for the win. Trapped on the inside for much of the race, the Haras Carampangue-bred runner found racing room in the stretch, surged past El Ernesto (Señor Candy, 56kg), and edged clear by half a length in a final time of 1:17.62. Apprentice jockey Wilfrido Torres Maldonado guided the Stud Ir La Dulcecolorbearer to his fifth career win — and first in stakes company — for trainer Candelario Cáceres.

A final note: assembling a field of 17 horses for a 1300-meter race at La Plata — even with one late scratch — is excessive, bordering on reckless, and nearly guaranteed to result in trouble.