The Aramburu Begins to Map Out Dreams at La Plata

With 11 colts in the starting gates, it will be the perfect prelude to the most anticipated classics of the second half of the season; Winston the leading candidate

Winston Returns to the Track Where He Finished Second in the Goenaga / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

LA PLATA.- The Triple Crown is just around the corner at this city’s racetrack, and for the colts, the Clásico Isidoro Aramburu (G3-1600m, dirt), the main event of Tuesday’s stakes tripleheader at La Plata, will serve as the final major prep.

With 11 confirmed runners, Winston emerges as the top candidate, returning to the track where just weeks ago he finished an excellent second behind Gardel Pass (Distinctiv Passion) – who will next contest the Clásico Miguel Cané (G2) – in the Clásico Pedro Goenaga (G2). Following that effort, the son of Forge trained by Juan Saldivia ran fourth, beaten nine lengths by Liberto (Hurricane Cat), in the Clásico Old Man (G3) at Palermo, so he will now seek to bounce back to his best form.

He will again meet the improving Vampiro Zen (Zensational), runner-up in the Old Man with a strong late rally, and prior winner of the Clásico Forli here. Their renewed clash should prove interesting, with race dynamics playing a key role for both.

Regalo del Sol (Lucullan) was a dominant debut winner of the Especial Independencia, scoring by eight lengths over Kuccini (Manipulator), who recently broke his maiden at San Isidro.

Hi Dolfi (Hi Happy) brings experience, having finished fifth in the Goenaga, after previously chasing home Alado Frank (Gidu) as runner-up in the Crespo (G3) and placing fifth in the Montevideo (G1), both at Palermo.

Un Infierno (Dabster) drops in class after beating just one rival home in the Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile (G1) and will aim to be more competitive here, while Sono Perfetto and Amuni, both by Tetaze, will look to step up into contention.

Chaplin (Nicholas) was second on Monday in the Clásico Domingo Torterolo at Palermo and is unlikely to return so soon. Nikonos (Annals of Time) and Juanchi Key (Presagio Key) enter off maiden wins and will test their quality against this deeper field.