The Gran Premio 25 de Mayo, an unmissable celebration at San Isidro

The patriotic feature will headline a Monday festival featuring four Group 1 events, while Honest Boy (pictured) will attempt to repeat the victory he achieved 12 months ago

Hipódromo de San Isidro will host one of the highlights of its season this Monday.

It promises to be a tremendous race meeting, framed by a date that resonates deeply within Argentine culture, celebrating May 25 with the grand prize race that pays tribute to the national holiday: the second most important race each year for older stayers at the home of the Jockey Club Argentino, surpassed only by the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini (G1).

A Group 1 contested over 2400 meters on turf, the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo has historically served as a showcase for some of the greatest names in Argentine racing and, even if its overall prestige no longer carries quite the same weight as in decades past, it still occupies a privileged place on the calendar.

Winning it remains a luxury; a trophy coveted by anyone who truly considers themselves part of the turf world.

The card itself promises a complete spectacle.

Alongside the 25 de Mayo, the Gran Premio de Potrancas (G1), Gran Premio Gran Criterium (G1), and Gran Premio Copa Diamante (G1) will also be contested, all over the mile, while the Clásico Fondistas Provinciales, at 2000 meters, will open the stakes portion of the afternoon.

There will also be plenty happening away from the racetrack.

San Isidro prepared several attractions for families, hoping to take advantage of what forecasts suggest should be pleasant weather conditions. There will be a food fair in the General Grandstand area, paddock-to-starting gate tours, exhibitions by the Argentine Hackney Association in the infield, and a central performance by the Band of the Argentine Navy General Staff, which will perform the national anthem.

Still, as the old saying goes, “the real test comes on the track,” and there Honest Boy (Heliostatic) will attempt to become one of the rare multiple winners of the race.

Victorious 12 months ago, the representative of Haras El Angel de Venecia appears poised to repeat despite several physical setbacks that limited his campaign since then.

The Carlos D. Etchechoury trainee returned from a lengthy layoff with a solid victory in the Clásico Porteño (G3), defeating Equal Mostaza (Equal Stripes) by 1 1/2 lengths, and that rival once again looms as one of his most dangerous opponents.

Etchechoury, however, will not rely solely on those two runners.

He will also saddle the unbeaten Magnum Fifth (Daniel Boone), perfect through three starts and now stepping into top company carrying enormous expectations. Also entered is Brazilian-bred Out of the Blue (Drosselmeyer), now racing for Stud El Basti, a dual stakes winner who finished third in this very race in 2025 and most recently checked in fifth in the Porteño.

There is also tremendous anticipation surrounding the return of Time to Think (Seahenge), absent since finishing seventh in the Pellegrini.

Before that effort, the colt had run third in the Gran Premio Copa de Oro (G1) and had previously demolished his rivals in the Yatasto (G3). At his best, he possesses enough talent to defeat virtually anyone in the field.

Group 1 winner Epityrum (Portal del Alto) is another runner who consistently delivers competitive performances, while Full Keynote (Full Mast) still carries the frustration of having been disqualified from first place in the Gran Premio Miguel A. Martínez de Hoz (G1). He now gets another chance to prove his true worth.

Finally, Curious Song (Sixties Song) and Holy Holy Rim (Remote) arrive from softer company, though filled with ambition and hoping to break into the big leagues with a major performance.