Triple Crown stars clash in Lakambini race

This year’s Triple Crown leg winners will be ranged against each other when the Philracom Lakambini stakes race is held today with a whopping P450,000 top prize at stake at the Sta. Ana Park.

Golden Ballet, winner of the Cojuangco Cup, which served as the opening leg of the Triple Crown, will vie for top honors against J.V. Ongpin Cup winner Halo Effect and Horsemsan’s Cup winner Magical Mark in the 1,800-m race.

Golden Ballet, owned by businessman Jun Almeda, won her TC leg over 1,600-m while Halo Effect, owned by Michael Trillana, took hers over 1,900-m. The Hermie Esguerra-owned Magical Mark took the third jewel in a grueling 2,050-m race.

Golden Ballet and Magical Mark should rule the tote board, but players won’t be discounting Halo Effect.

In fact, many pundits say the race is solely between Halo Effect and Magical Mark.

Two reasons: They say that nowhere in Golden Ballet’s record has she shown any ability to go beyond 1,600-m. The other reason is that in the second leg, Halo Effect won only by a half a length over Magical Mark.

The other contenders today and seriously considered as longshots are Velocity, Dandansoy and What A Spell.

"We are extremely excited about the prospects of this featured rematch of Triple Crown headliners and look forward to supporting the staging of many more top money events featuring the country’s leading gallopers," said Philracom chairman Andrew Sanchez. — Ramon Romualdez