Real Spicy really spicy

Real Spicy lived up to his name as he dominated a lean field to rule the 2006 Philracom "Commissioner’s Cup (G2)" in record-breaking run at the Santa Ana Park yesterday.

It was Real Spicy’s fourth straight victory this year, completing his impressive wire-to-wire triumph over 1,800 meters in 1:52, 3/5ths of a second faster than the previous mark jointly held by imported horses Wild Orchid and Being There.

Expertly handled by jockey Jesse Guce, the four-year-old chestnut colt set the pace early and was never threatened the rest of the way.

His 1:25 clocking for the first 1,400 meters of the race (13.5-23.5-24-24) was the fastest ever seen at the Santa Ana Park, completing the race in a leisurely romp of 27 seconds in the final 400 meters with plenty to spare.

In fact, Real Spicy has set new track records at the Santa Ana Park in his last three starts from 1,450 meters (1:29) last January to 1,600 meters (1:39) last month and now over 1,800-meters, scoring all of these victories by an average winning margin of 10 lengths.

The win was worth P600,000 for owner Hermie Esguerra. — Ramon Romualdez