Pangalusian Island hopes to join an elite club of back-to-back champions when the 49th edition of the Presidential Gold Cup is held on Sunday, Dec. 12 at the Metro Manila Turf Club in Batangas. But it won’t be easy. For one, there are 13 tough challengers in the P10 million event ready to spoil hi
THE Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom)-sponsored Philippine Sportswriters Association Cup rounds up three major events on Sunday at the San Lazaro Business and Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite. Recent Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) 3-Year-Old Maiden Stakes winner Mommy Caring (Striding Ahead out of On A Mission) is favotred in the…
Published May 24, 2021, 5:06 PM
Super Swerte never skipped a beat despite a long layoff due to the pandemic, exacting a sweet revenge against Pangalusian Island in the Philracom Commissioner’s Cup 2021 at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite on Sunday, May 23.
Racing under bemedalled jockey JB Guce and trainer Ruben Tupas, Super Swerte crossed the finish line in one minute and 40 seconds, five lengths ahead of Pangalusian Island in the 1,600-meter race staged for the fire victims and medical frontliners at the Philippine General Hospital.
Super Swerte stormed right out of the gates but surrendered the lead to Patong Patong inside the 900-meter mark before the Mayor Sandy Javier-owned horse regained footing and broke away in the final 350 meters.
Union Bell in file photo
In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, however, said that the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases decided that no spectators will be allowed in the venue of the race.
“The IATF approved the conduct of horse-racing activities in areas under MECQ under a no-audience set up,” he said Friday.
Roque said only online and TeleBet activities in the National Capital Region-plus (NCR-plus) bubbe area may operate.
Off-tracking betting stations, on the other hand, may resume operations during the general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ (MGCQ).
It took six months before the IATF allowed the resumption of Philippine horse racing in September last year. Horse racing was one of the establishments forced to close down during the lockdown due to the threat of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.