Empire King guns for Gran Copa

Empire King guns for his third straight victory in big-time racing as he leads the chase for the top P300,000 purse in the 25th Gran Copa de Manila tonight at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite.

With arch rival Cover Girl out of the elite field in Division I, the centerpiece event of the day-long racing festival held in conjunction with the Araw ng Maynila celebrations, Empire King is fancied to rule the 1,750-meter race over the likes of Cool Runnings, West Bound and Free Wind.

Empire King has not lost a race since teaming up with ace jockey Antonio Alcasid Jr., winning the the Eduardo Cojuangco Cup and the Binay Cup.

An impressive lineup of races offering a total pot money of P1.35 million is on tap, including the Division II race featuring the likes of Flying Princess, Glamour, Hazmagic, Last Snip, Sir Brendan Jean, Speed O’War, Suppressed and Surprise Target. — Ramon Romualdez