Twitch Hurricane and the Under-the-Radar Victory in the Handicap Practicante
- Turf Diario
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
The son of Hurricane Cat got up in the nick of time to deny Sebi Torres by a nose and take Monday’s feature
When the field hit the wire in Monday’s featured Handicap Practicante (1400m, dirt) at Palermo, few doubted that Sebi Torres (Orpen, 119 lbs) had just held off the furious late charge of Twitch Hurricane (Hurricane Cat, 122½ lbs). Coming from far off the pace, Twitch Hurricane had closed stoutly, but to most observers, it looked like he’d simply run out of ground.
The green flag signaling an inquiry was the first sign of doubt, and when the official decision posted a nose margin in favor of Twitch Hurricane, it left more eyebrows raised than hands clapping in celebration. Even within the winner’s camp, the result was met with surprise.
Slow-motion footage only added to the confusion. Stopping the video at the wire seemed to show Sebi Torres holding a narrow edge, his nose and front legs appearing slightly ahead of his rival’s. But it wasn’t until much later—after an unusually long delay—that the photo finish image was finally displayed, revealing that Twitch Hurricane had indeed managed to get his nose down at just the right moment. Still, uncertainty lingered in the air.
With Kevin Banegas in the irons and riding in peak form, the Stud Santa Angela homebred surged from last to first to bounce back from a disappointing showing in the Handicap Good Time. The 5-year-old was earning his second win at this level, having previously captured the Handicap APHARA over 1200 meters in October.
The official margin was a nose, with Tsunami Key (Key Deputy, 130 lbs) another two lengths back in third. Favored Estero de Ibera (Il Campione, 134 lbs) turned in one of his weakest efforts in recent memory, finishing off the board in a performance that couldn’t be explained by weight alone. Final time for the race was 1:22.46 after early fractions of :22.36, :45.42 and 1:09.26.
Bred by Haras Santa Inés and trained by Jorge Mayansky Neer, Twitch Hurricane hails from the storied female line of Twins (Atlas), also responsible for champions such as Invasor (Candy Stripes) and more recent G1 winners like Quirico(Jump Start) and Reina Victoriosa (Intérprete).(Intérprete).
댓글