My Jopay won by a nose, but ended up placing runner-up to eventual champion Shanghai Grey in a wet and wild finish in the 2019 Philippine Racing Commission’s Lakambini Stakes Race at the Saddle and Clubs Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite on Sunday.
Ridden by jockey MM Gonzales, My Jopay weathered the final burst of main rival Shanghai Grey (jockey JB Hernandez) and won the 1,6000-meter race by a virtual inch, but the Philracom’s Board of Stewards nullified its victory due to two infractions.
“Stewards repeatedly reviewed the tape of the race and observed that during the jump out, My Jopay sharply shifted in unto Shanghai Grey denying the latter a fair start. At the final turn, My Jopay shifted ground outwards 10-horses wide, carrying Shanghai Grey further outside. Stewards ruled that the two infractions committed on Shanghai Grey merited the disqualification of the winner (My Jopay) and alter the original order of arrival,” the Philracom report stated.
Jockey MM Gonzales was also given a suspension of 156 racing days for foul riding, readily admitting that his actions affected Shanghai Grey’s running.
The victory was worth a cool P900,000 for Shanghai Grey owner Melanie Habla, whose breeder Erwin Habla pocketed the winning breeder’s purse of P60,000 from the total guaranteed total prize of P1.5 million put up by the Philracom.
“Game plan namin pasabay-sabay lang sa top 3, tapos hataw sa rekta. Malinaw sana na panalo kung walang interference,” said Hernandez, who claimed that as the field approached the final bend, he noticed that Gonzales had his whip on his left hand, forcing My Jopay to swerve out.
My Jopay, owned by Moses Villasenor, took the runner-up pot of P337,500 in the race marked by a slight drizzle and featuring the country’s best fillies.
My Shelltex (owner Antonio Tan, jockey JB Guce) went home with the third-place prize of P187,500, while Shanghai Grey’s stablemate, fourth placer Two Timer (jockey JA Guce) received P75,000.
Other Sunday winers were Indubitably (Race 1), Cavite Royale (Race 2), Hardliner (Race 3), Ifyourhonorplease (Race 4), Triton (Race 6), Early Bird (Race 7), Fort McKinley (Race 8, Concert King (Race 9), Daanbantayan (Race 10), Desert Gold (Race 11) and Halo Wander (Race 12).
Meanwhile, the Philracom is planning to put up several charity races late this month to aid the victims of two earthquakes in Batanes last month.
Several big stakes races are still in the offing from Philracom in the coming months—the Sampaguita Stakes Race on Sept. 15 and the first legs of the Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Races on Oct. 6 and the 3YO Imported/Local Challenge on Oct. 20.
This will be followed by the 2nd leg of the Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Races on Nov. 3, the Ambassador Eduardo M. Cojuangco Jr. Cup on Nov. 17 and the 2nd leg of the 3YO Imported/Local Challenge on Nov. 24.
December proves to be the busiest horseracing month for big races with the Philracom’s holding of the 3rd leg of the Juvenile Fillies and Colts Stakes Races on the 1st, the Grand Sprint Championship on the 15th, the Chairman’s Cup and the 3rd leg of the 3YO Imported/Local Challenge Series on the 29th and the Juvenile Championship on the 31st.