NEWS
Sembra Fe, Villero Cat win Group 1 races in Argentina
Posted: Sunday, March 07, 2010 5:09 PM
by Michael Burns
Group 2-placed winner Sembra Fe scored a dominant victory in the Gran Premio Saturnino J. Unzué (Arg-G1), the first Group 1 race of the season for two-year-old fillies, on Saturday at Hipodromo Palermo.
A winner of her debut at Palermo on November 28, the precocious two-year-old filly from the first crop of Manipulator, earned her first stakes victory with a front-running 2 1/2-length victory over second wagering choice Catch the Mad.
Haras Santa Maria de Araras homebred Kiss Me Alone finished another 2 1/2 lengths back in third. Group 2 winner and heavy favorite The Rosy finished a disappointing sixth in the eight-horse field.
Sembra Fe entered off a second-place finish in the Clasico Carlos Casares (Arg-G2) at Palermo on February 7. She has won or placed in all four of her starts on the Palermo dirt track and solidified her credentials as one of the leading members of her division.
Bred by Haras Arcangel, Sembra Fe is out of the winning El Sembrador mare Siembra Pasion. She completed 1,200 meters (5.97 furlongs) in 1:09.70 on a track rated as fast. She is campaigned by Haras El Tala and trained by Domingo Torrilla.
Later on the card, undefeated Villero Cat kept his perfect record intact by narrowly capturing the Gran Premio Santiago Luro (Arg-G1) to bolster his status as Argentina’s top two-year-old male.
The Easing Along colt was sent off as the favorite and prevailed by a head over Que Chistoso. Haras San Benito homebred Don Petardo finished another neck back in third in the field of eight.
Trained by Jorge Dulom and ridden to victory by Peruvian jockey Edwin Talaverano, the Haras El Alfalfar homebred covered 1,200 meters (5.97 furlongs) in 1:09.43 to register his fourth victory in as many starts for the Camogli family.
"We are very happy with the colt and think of him as a super horse. His dam belongs to a very traditional pedigree from the farm from which we’ve enjoyed continuous satisfactions," owner-breeder Alejandro Camogli said. "The next step will be the Gran Premio Chevalier (Arg-G1) at seven furlongs at San Isidro."
Villero Cat, who is out of the Contested Bid mare Bien Rea, entered off a 1 1/2-length victory in the Clasico Guillermo Kemmis (Arg-G2) at Palermo on February 7.
Michael Burns is a South America-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent
