Asian Racing
Ace Of Diamonds New Career in Philippines
The former Group 2 Singapore Guineas winner for 2024 Ace Of Diamonds, scored his biggest win since being relocated to the Philippines with a gutsy all the way victory under jockey Jonathan Hernandez, in the Cool Summer Farm Open Imported Stakes Race over 2000 meters at Padre Garcia last Sunday.
In a race run at a sizzling speed with sectionals of 22' 22' for the first 800 meters of the race, Ace Of Diamonds was pressured left right and center in the run, firstly early on by the favorite Lucency (Tapwrit USA) and then Birchton (Maclean's Music USA) took him on from the 800 meter mark. Both Ace Of Diamonds and Birchton singled out for a battle royale down the straight, with Ace of Diamonds clinging on to win by a neck on the line from Birchton (PJA Guce).
The race carried prize money of 1.2 million pesos and domestic Group 3 status, as the second race in the Philippines to carry black type, (the other being the Presidential Gold Cup Gr 1), since the fledgling Philippine Jockey Club began its operations on November 12.
Ace of Diamonds is prepared by Edgardo Lumpay, who ended the year with seven winners from the seventeen race-days conducted at Padre Garcia. The five-year-old bay son of Swiss Ace (NZ) from the More Than Ready (USA) mare Go Kate Go, is a much-traveled gelding that was foaled down at the famed Westbury Stud in New Zealand, and was later purchased out of the 2022 Magic Million National Yearling Sale by Leyte Vice-Governor Leonardo "Sandy" Javier Jnr to race in Singapore.
Being a Group 2 winner and with stats like that, you would have thought it might have been just easy pickings and all cream for Ace Of Diamonds in the Philippines; however, such is the class of horses here nowadays, that the gelding has been well and truly beaten on a few occasions. That said, he has still been able to maintain his consistency, with three wins and five more placings from his twelve starts.
Sunday's other feature was the 4th Cool Summer Farm Juvenile Championship Stakes over 1400 meters for locally bred horses, and was taken out in brilliant fashion by Magellan ridden by N C Lunar.
Magellan, is a lovely big two-year-old chestnut son of the resident Cool Summer Farm Stallion Dance City (City Zip USA). At his only race start prior for trainer Dante Salazar, the colt was very green and was like a drunken sailor trying to navigate the Malvar track. On Sunday with the benefit of that run under his belt, Magellan sailed straight to the front soon after the start and was never headed; beating the hot favorite Cunningham (Dance City USA), by 7.7 lengths.
The colt is raced by prominent owner Enrico San Andres; and while Sunday's win was indeed impressive, there is still more improvement in the big chestnut to come
Hats off to Joseph Dyhengco of Cool Summer Farm, for his promotion in again sponsoring the Juvenile event for horses purchased from his farm, as well as the Imported Open Challenge Race.
Cool Summer Farm is a magnificent showplace farm and state of the art equine nursery in Lipa City Batangas, that houses approximately 150 racehorses, both locally bred and imports from around the globe.
Joseph Dyhengco, has for many years been bringing the top bloodlines from the USA to the Philippines to race and stand at stud. Among them have been the highly successful Dance City, Tricks To Doo a record-breaking son of Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday USA), Hook and Ladder (Dixieland Band USA), and more recently they have purchased Firing Line (Line Of David USA).
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