By MARK REY MONTEJO
MALVAR CITY, Batangas – Chef Cat recovered from a lethargic start to reign supreme in the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Cup benefit race of the 29th Metropolitan Association of Horse Race Owners (MARHO) Breeders’ Championships on Friday, Nov. 22, at the Metro Manila Turf Club Inc.
Still several lengths behind midway through the 1,200m race, Chef Cat, owned by Juan Carlos Delos Reyes, put on a dazzling show of speed at the far turn before outkicking Street Magic, Marengo, Compassion and Axis Deviation in a mad dash to the finish to prevail by a hairline.
Chef Cat negotiated the contest in 1 minute and 15 seconds to win the second race of the day witnessed by excited “Bayang Karerista.”
“Mahirap na karera ito, swertihan lang. Na-suwertehan lang ng kabayo ko. Binantayan ko kasi sa pagtulog yan at tyaka naramdaman ko mahimbing ‘yong tulog eh,” said Delos Reyes with a smile.
“Pare-parehas lang yan, kung sino mahimbing siya ang mananalo. [Talagang] Malakas tumulak ‘yung hinete ko,” added the owner.
It was an almost lackluster outing for Chef Cat in the tournament of Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) – which was spearheaded by chairman Reli de Leon and backed by Leyte vice governor Sandy Javier – as it trailed Compassions and Seven of Diamonds.
Thanks to the brilliant prodding of jockey Antonio Navarosa, Chef Cat well full throttle in final straightaway to pull off the stunning win.
With the win, Chef Cat rewarded the owner the handsome purse of P180,000.
Compassion finished second and got P67,500 while Seven of Diamonds wound up third worth P37,500. Axis Deviation got P15,000 for finishing fourth.
“‘Yong benefit income rito, sana makatulong ito sa mga advocacies ng PSA na matagal konang kaibigan, for more than 20 years na rin,” said De Leon.
