Stormy Summer Proved That a Slip Is Not a Fall and Took the General Las Heras

Following a stumble in Buenos Aires, the Carampangue homebred shone over her preferred distance and surface

A slip is not a fall, and Stormy Summer proved just that during a highly entertaining Sunday of racing at Hipódromo de San Isidro, returning to winning ways by taking the trophy in the Clásico General Las Heras (G3).

Over a distance and surface where she is a true specialist—the 1400 meters on the turf—the brown mare resolved with absolute authority a race that, on paper, appeared extremely well-balanced, featuring a long list of candidates in the lineup.

Sent off as the ultimate favorite in the betting, the Carampangue homebred had already won two stakes under the exact same conditions, both at Palermo, and once again displayed the closing power that has become her trademark.

Held wrapped up during the opening stages while Verenna (Cosmic Trigger) and Blessed Shine (Honour Devil) set the pace through fractions of 24s82/100 and 48s33/100 over a yielding track, Stormy Summer found racing room upon entering the straight, angled towards the center of the course, and from there launched a charge to sweep past her rivals, drawing away convincingly.

At the wire, there were 3 1/2 lengths separating her from Adi Shakti (Lucullan), the filly she had just finished sixth behind in the Clásico Asociación de Propietarios de Caballos de Carrera (G3) in Buenos Aires, gaining sweet revenge with Gonzalo Borda shining in her irons.

A neck back, Blessed Shine gave another demonstration of her consistency to secure third place, a head in front of Verenna, who was also courageous. The winning time for the General Las Heras was 1m26s18/100, a mark that illustrated the soft condition of the ground.

Part of the first crop of the champion Nicholas (Equal Stripes)—a stallion overlooked commercially but yielding good results—Stormy Summer closed out a remarkable weekend for her trainer, Agustín Pavlovsky. On Friday, at the Jockey Club venue, he had captured the Especial Halo Ola with Dona Zoe (Storm Embrujado), in addition to finishing second on Saturday with Guadilú (Señor Candy) in the Handicap Cote D'Or, where she was defeated by her paternal half-sister Paxing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12B8jk_QsdE