Longshot foils Golden Ballet bid

Longshot Halo Effect yesterday ended Golden Ballet’s ambitious bid for the Triple Crown as she practically came from nowhere to rule the 2002 J.V. Ongpin Cup before a bewildered crowd at the San Lazaro Hippodrome.

Halo Effect got off to a strong start in the 1,900-m race and went side by side with Cutting Edge and Golden Ballet before slowing down and yielding the lead after the far turn. But Halo Effect simply couldn’t be denied, barely beating Cutting Edge to the finish.

Minutes after the race, however, the board of stewards relegated Cutting Edge to fourth place behind Halo Effect, Magical Mark and Golden Ballet, winner of the Triple Crown first leg, for crossing the latter’s path late in the race.

Halo Effect drew a measly P9,242 out of the race’s total sales of P1.3 million while Golden Ballet was the overwhelming favorite with a sales of P915,485. The victory was worth a whopping P1 million for Halo Effect owner Michael Trillana.

"The best thing about this horse is her heart. She simply won’t stop," said the winning owner who, this early, expressed their readiness for the third and final leg of the Triple Crown – the Horseman’s Cup – next month.

Halo Effect won the race with a time of 2:03 behind quartertimes of 17-24-26’-26’-29.

"Maganda ang alis. Malamig at preskong-presko," said winning jockey J.M. Ladiana, confident that his charger will be a force to reckon with in the Horseman’s Cup. "Markado na kami diyan pero okey lang. Sa tingin ko, si Golden Ballet ang kalaban."

The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the handlers of Golden Ballet, who blew a chance of becoming only the ninth horse to win the local version of the Triple Crown. — Ramon Romualdez