Hardly drawing a challenge in front, speedster Success Story fashioned out one of the most stunning victories in long-distance racing as he beat heavily-favored Red Star Rising and Free Wind to rule the Commissioner’s Cup yesterday at the Santa Ana Park.
In the absence of sprinters in the nine-horse field and taking advantage of the No. 1 stall, jockey Jeffril Zarate wisely steered Success Story upfront in the early going of the 1,800-meter race, built 4-5 length leads in tight reins over Free Wind before the grey galloper unleashed enough staying power to complete the wire-to-wire victory.
The win was worth a guaranteed prize of P600,000 for owner Bienvenido Niles III, whose bet drew only P57,529 bets out of the total grand sales of P1,159,998.
It was indeed a rousing victory for Success Story who had posted a couple of equally stirring victories when left alone to dictate the tempo of the race. He clocked 1.54.4 with fraction times of 13’-23’-26-24’-27.
And it was another disappointing finish for the fancied Red Star Rising, who rose to fame when he beat West Bound in at least two stakes races last year but who came out of a frustrating loss to Free Wind last month.
He settled for second worth P225,000 while Free Wind (P125,000) and Bulakeña (P50,000) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the race held in honor of former commissioners Francis Trillana Jr. and Felizardo Sevilla, Jr. - R. Romualdez