by Michael Burns

Chilean classic winner Paloma Infiel solidified her status as Chile’s best three-year-old on turf with a hard fought victory in the $111,129 Clasico El Derby (Chi-G1) (Chilean Derby), the third and final leg of the Chilean national Triple Crown, on Sunday at Valparaiso Sporting Club in Viña del Mar.

Favorite Paloma Infiel unleashed an explosive rally along the inside rail under 19-year-old Rafael Cisternas with about a furlong remaining to prevail by a head over Febo Apolo and pacemaker Top.

George Strawbridge’s Kurbat, impressive 10 ¾-length winner of the Clasico St. Leger-Cristal (Chi-G1), the second leg of the series, finished seventh while Las Oaks (Chi-G1) heroine Candy Doll placed 13th in the 15-horse field.

Trained by Hector Castillo, Paloma Infiel completed 2,400 meters (11.93 furlongs) on the turf in 2:26.62 to register her fourth group victory while improving her record to five wins from 15 career starts.

With her victory, Paloma Infiel captured two-thirds of the Chilean national Triple Crown following her one-length victory in the Clasico El Ensayo (Chi-G1), the opening leg of the series in November at Club Hipico de Santiago. She bypassed starting in the middle leg, the St. Leger-Cristal (Chi-G1), which was run on the dirt at Hipodromo Chile in December.

The race reunited the winners of the first two legs of the series for the first time in ten years.

A dual classic winner of Valparaiso Sporting Club’s Triple Crown classic series for juveniles, Paloma Infiel is by the Chilean-based stallion Auguri and is out of the El Oriental mare Purita.

The prestigious Gran Premio Latinoamericano (Per-G1) in Lima or a United States campaign with a possible long look at the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) in Paris are options under consideration for Paloma Infiel, who is bred and owned by Maria Luisa Solari Falabella’s and Marcel Zarour's Haras El Sheik.

Michael Burns is a South America-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent