Haras Phillipson's undefeated homebred Touch of Destiny leads a six-horse field in the June 29 Asociacion Uruguaya de Propietarios de Caballos de Carrera (G3) at Hipodromo Maronas. The winner of the one-mile contest will earn an automatic starting position into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.
The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 93 stakes races in 15 countries whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Run under weight-for-age conditions for 2-year-olds and up, Sunday's race is the first Breeders' Cup Challenge Series event to be held in Uruguay, which becomes the fifth South American country to host a Challenge Series race this year, joining Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru.
Touch of Destiny, a Southern Hemisphere-bred 2-year-old son of 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Midshipman , has won all five of his starts in dominant fashion, and all at Maronas, for trainer Raimundo Soares. In his most recent outing he missed the seven-furlong track record by just a fifth of a second when winning the June 1 Campeones Juvenile by seven lengths. He scored a nine-length win in the listed April 27 Clasico Lavalleja going 6 1/2 furlongs. Sunday marks his first test going a mile and in a group stakes race. Foaled Aug. 6, 2022, Touch of Destiny is already a 3-year-old by Northern Hemisphere standards and turns 3 July 1 on the Southern Hemisphere calendar.
Another horse with five straight wins is the 3-year-old Si Senor, owned by Jacobo Mattos, Federico Mattos, and Alvaro Mattos, and trained by Jorge Rey. A son of Senor Candy, Si Senor is a three-time stakes winner. He began the year Jan. 6 with a 4 1/2-length victory coming seven wide in the stretch to take the one-mile Gran Premio Pedro Pineyrua (G3), and after another local stakes win in February, he captured the March 23 listed Clasico Otono by 2 1/4 lengths at Maronas. Overall, he has won six of 11 starts.
Stud H&R's Latte Macchiato is the defending champion, scoring a 4 1/2-length victory last year. Trained by Ricardo Colombo, this 5-year-old son of Put It Back has won two of four starts this year. After winning a Feb. 23 handicap race by three lengths, he finished second to Si Senor in the Clasico Otono. However, he rebounded in his last start, a 4 1/2-length win in the April 20 listed Clasico Benito Villanueva going one mile at Maronas.
Columbo has also entered H&R's Samba E Samba, a 3-year-old son of Rally Cry, who won two allowance races earlier this year, and finished third in the Clasico Benito Villanueva.
Stud Maluga's 3-year-old Ultra Black finished third in the Gran Premio Pedro Pineyrua, but will be looking to improve upon four off-the-board finishes since then for trainer Ernesto Martinez.
A second starter for Haras Phillipson is the 3-year-old Sugar Bite, a son of Will Take Charge who has won two of his last three starts for trainer Raimundo Soares, including a May 4 allowance race victory by 2 3/4 lengths at one mile.
As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner to start in the Dirt Mile and will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of California to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Oct. 20 pre-entry deadline in order to receive the rewards.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
