Vampiro Zen straightens his path through important victories

The chestnut, who was a key player in the 2025 selection process for a period, took the Clásico Oswaldo Aranha (L)

Vampiro Zen clearly held off all closing charges / HLP

LA PLATA.- After a period of being off the radar in major races, Vampiro Zen is rebuilding his image. The colt, who once showed great promise during the selection process stages here and in Palermo, returned to the winner's circle at the stakes level this Tuesday. He claimed the Clásico Oswaldo Aranha (L), contested over a mile on a normal dirt track, which closed the day’s stakes doubleheader.

He had already signaled his intentions with a win in an allowance race, but now he made a significant leap in class to clearly defeat a competitive field of rivals.

The son of Zensational had previously triumphed in the Clásico Forli, followed by a second-place finish behind Liberto (Hurricane Cat) in the G3 Clásico Old Man, and a third behind Winston (Forge) and Sono Perfetto (Tetaze) in the G3 Clásico José Pedro Ramírez. After that, his campaign had faded.

With Miguel A. O. Sosa back in the irons, the Stud El Romance representative never traveled too far from the pace set by Amuni (Tetaze), who clocked fractions of 26.09, 49.36, and 1:13.58.

Vampiro Zen made his move early in the homestretch, gradually taking command and showing enough stamina to hold off the dual challenge launched by Brasilero Francisco (Lizard Island) and the favorite El Ernesto (Señor Candy). They followed him home 1 1/2 lengths back, separated by just a minimum advantage between them. The final time for the race was 1:37.92.

Saddled by Brenda Ribot and bred by Haras Vikeda, Vampiro Zen now totals 4 career victories and has provided plenty of reasons to believe he can be a key player in the middle-distance division this season.

The chestnut is the best foal to date for Valentonada Inc (Include), a maternal half-sister to stakes winner Adi Shakti (Lucullan) and a granddaughter of South Vagancia (Southern Halo). This family traces back to the sensational pedigree of Vaga Toss (Egg Toss) and Vacación (Voodoo), which has produced so many great names in recent decades.