His 2:05.4 clocking over the punishing 2,000-meter distance eclipsed the 2:08.6 mark set by retired superhorse Real Top at the same track during the 1998 staging of the Gold Cup, further underscoring the tremendous improvement made by the massive-built three-year-old galloper in the last few months.
The three-length victory was worth P1.5 million for sportsman Sandy Javier and it came after Wind Blown, winner of this year’s third leg of the Triple Crown series, ruled the Breeders Cup race for three-year-old colts unopposed last month.
He had quartertimes of 22-25-26'-24-28, even rushing up to grab the lead from the fading Misty Rose with still 800 meters remaining which, for a while, seemed to have come a bit too early as Wind Blown slowed down at their last turn for home.
As he sped to four-five lengths at the far turn, Phenomenal also made a comeback bid but could only muster a token challenge after closing to within two lengths as the Jeffril Zarate-mount horse faded out down the stretch, enabling Greely Good to grab the second place worth P500,000. Phenomenal settled for third worth P250,000 while Gold Edition fared miserably with a fourth-place finish (P125,000). — Ramon Romualdez