By TITO S. TALAO
The US Triple Crown championship drought has now stretched to eight years, with the latest Kentucky Derby winner, Golden Tempo, skipping the Preakness Stakes on Sunday in Laurel, Maryland.
Justify, a descendant of legendary champions Secretariat and Seattle Slew, overcame a post-race test for a banned substance to complete a Triple Crown sweep in 2018. He remains the most recent title-holder, and will keep that distinction until a new champion emerges.
Reli de Leon, chairman of the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom), hopes local horseracing will enjoy greater success than its US counterpart, as the “bayang karerista” looks forward to the possible rise of a new Triple Crown champion following Heneral Kalentong’s reign in 2020.
The first leg of Philracom’s Triple Crown series PJC 1650M is scheduled for May 24 at the Philippine Jockey Club in Carmona, Cavite, followed by the second leg MMTCI 1800M on June 14 at the Metro Manila Turf Club in Malvar, Batangas. The PJC will host the final leg PJC 2000M on July 19.
“We hope to see a Triple Crown champion this year,” De Leon said.
Nearly four decades after the magnificent Fair and Square, ridden by Jesus Guce, dominated the inaugural Triple Crown series in 1981 by capturing the Cojuangco Cup, JV Ongpin Cup and Horseman’s Cup, Heneral Kalentong became Philippine horseracing’s 12th Triple Crown champion in 2020, with jockey JB Guce wearing a face mask due to the pandemic.
Between those victories came a roster of legendary names now etched in local horseracing folklore: Skywalker (1983), Time Master (1987), Magic Showtime (1988), Sun Dancer (1989), Strong Material (1996), Real Top (1998), Silver Story (2001), Hagdang Bato (2012), Kid Molave (2014), and Sepfourteen (2017).
“The remarkable victory of Heneral Kalentong in 2020 gave Philippine horseracing a major boost after operations were suspended from March 15 to September 5 because of the pandemic,” De Leon said, recalling how Philracom honored the champion the following year.
“We changed the Philracom logo to feature the winning form of Heneral Kalentong in tribute to that spectacular 2020 Triple Crown triumph, with the silhouetted jockey wearing a face mask as a reminder to future generations of the resilience of our industry, which bounced back stronger after the pandemic.”
De Leon also noted that Heneral Kalentong was the second Triple Crown winner owned by former DILG secretary Benhur Abalos, following the successful campaign of Hagdang Bato in 2012.
Philracom has even bigger plans for next year.
Led by the 12 Triple Crown champions, De Leon revealed that other outstanding horses in the history of local racing will also be inducted into the Philracom Hall of Fame, giving these remarkable thoroughbreds a pedestal of their own.
A 13th Triple Crown champion would be a welcome addition.
