By Jenny Ortuoste
War Cannon denied the favorite Nuclear Bomb a sweep of the 2021 Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) Triple Crown Stakes series by firing off an upset in the third leg held Sunday (Oct. 3) at Santa Ana Park in Naic, Cavite.
War Cannon’s stablemate Flattering You led the initial stages of the 2,000-meter race, followed by Gusto Mucho, Ambisioso, and Paruparung Bukid, with the other horses in the nine-horse field racing behind.
Nuclear Bomb, who handily won the first two legs of the series, and second pick War Cannon, guided by veteran rider Kelvin Abobo, began to rally at the far turn. The favorite briefly grabbed the lead down the stretch only to be overtaken by War Cannon, who won by three lengths to earn the purse of P2.1 million.
War Cannon, a 3YO bay male by Brigand out of Ivanavinalot, is owned by Melaine Habla and trained by Ruben S. Tupas.
The clock stopped at 2:07, a leisurely pace for this distance compared to previous Triple Crown performances. Nuclear Bomb settled for second and P700,000, followed by Kevlar in third with P350,000 and Gusto Mucho fourth with P175,000. There were also prizes of P105,000 and P70,000 for the fifth and sixth placers respectively.
WTA carryovers
According to Santa Ana Park Racing Manager Antonio B. Alcasid Jr., the day’s 14-race card featured “interlocked races” that he said “proved challenging for our bayang karerista. That and the large field sizes in almost all the races today resulted in two Winner-Take-All carryovers totalling P1,067,367.09.”
The day’s program also featured two other 2,000-meter races also sponsored by Philracom: the 3YO Locally-Bred Stakes won by longshot Isla Puting Bato (owner MA Tansengco, trainer Peter Aguila, jockey John Paul Guce), and the Hopeful Stakes won by Shanghai Silk (owner Sandy Javier, trainer Ruben S. Tupas, and jockey AR Villegas). # – bny
