The Gladiator's Hat wants the Martínez de Hoz and to be close to the Latino...

The horse from Haras El Angel de Venecia, who finished second to Obataye in the Pellegrini, is betting on another G1 victory

The Gladiator's Hat winning the Rocha 2025 / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

The big season kicks off this Saturday in Argentina. The Gran Premio Miguel A. Martínez de Hoz (G1-2000 m, turf) will be run, the first G1 of 2026, which, as so often before, will carry weight regarding the Jockey Club Argentino's nomination of its representative for the Gran Premio Latinoamericano (G1), to be held in late April at Monterrico, Peru, on turf.

The Hipódromo de San Isidro will host a local rematch of what happened in December during the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini (G1), where foreigners almost swept the board, led by the 1-3 finish headed by champion Obataye(Courtier).

That afternoon, The Gladiator's Hat (Hat Ninja) was the best-placed Albiceleste, finishing as runner-up to the Carioca and confirming the leap he had shown when, previously, he had won by a block in the Gran Premio Dardo Rocha (G1) at La Plata.

The horse from Stud-Haras El Angel de Venecia will now drop down to 2000 meters, a distance over which he managed to win 3 consecutive races on the northern grass when he began to show his full potential before making the jump to the stakes scene.

Capable of adapting to any type of pace, the bay is the hope of Carlos Felice to go for another international experience, with the incentive of the stupendous purse of the continental race, which, as mentioned here, will be sponsored by the firm Cygames.

It will not be a bed of roses for The Gladiator's Hat, as he will run into several rivals to be extremely wary of. Among them will be the triple G1 winner Acento Final (Treasure Beach), one of the great disappointments of the Pellegrini, who will try to return to his best.

In this distance and track, he took the Gran Premio Jockey Club (G1) of 2024, defeating Honest Boy (Heliostatic), another credit of El Angel de Venecia, later adding the Gran Premio General San Martín (G1) and Copa de Oro(G1) over a mile and a half.

An interesting presence to watch is El Encinal (Il Campione), who just found victory again in a conditional race after a very long time following his unfruitful stint in the United States. The bay who won the 2023 Pellegrini is working to recover his best form, and this will be a precious opportunity to shape that desire.

Chelato (Cosmic Trigger) and Pecado Original (Global Hunter) come off a dead heat for first place in the Clásico Botafogo (G3), the prep for the Martínez de Hoz, but here they will face a tougher crowd.

Romana Craf, to settle her debt

The day at San Isidro will have another race to follow closely with the Clásico Juan Shaw (G2-2200 m, turf), for mares 3 years and older.

There, the good Romana Craf (Mastercraftsman) will try to settle a debt and achieve her first group victory. Winner of the Clásico Espirita (L), she was second in the last two editions of the Gran Premio Copa de Plata (G1), and that fact is enough to understand her specific weight.

Her main adversary will be Neowise (Agnes Gold), the Brazilian from RDI who was third in the aforementioned Copa de Plata, 1 1/2 lengths behind the candidate, and now seeks revenge.

The surprise could come from Miss Talento (Equal Talent), of recent evolution.