"We knew she was going to race well but we never knew that she would win. This is just the road to the Triple Crown," said Cover Girl’s trainer, Dr. Antonio Alcasid, following the Easter Sunday victory posted over top favorites Empire King and Moab.
Ridden by jockey EF Salvador, Cover Girl got off to a strong start and wavered a bit midway through the 1,600-meter race before pouring it on in the homestretch to nail the P450,000 top purse. She’s now one of the horses to watch in this year’s Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown fires off with its first leg on May 23 at the same track.
Moab was a fading second for P168,750 while Empire King, the solid favorite, was a distant third for P93,750. Cover Girl was good for only P12,210 out of the total sales of over P1 million and paid a very handsome forecast dividend of P2,494 for every P5 bet (1-3). — Ramon Romualdez