A huge crowd enjoying the scent of Christmas came to watch the 2,000-meter race, hoping to catch Wind Blown, the superhorse owned by Hermie Esguerra, make a run at history and the huge P1.5 million top purse.
But Free Wind, ridden by Joe Noel Camu and owned by Robert Liong, had other things in mind as he took charge in the final 800 meters to post a four-length win over a dozen other contenders.
President Arroyo, in whose honor the race was held, skipped the event, but was represented by his son, Pampanga Vice Governor Mikey Arroyo.
Lyonnais was second, followed by Triple Crown leg winner Golden Ballet, Hyperbid, Wind Blown and Perfect Storm. Wind Blown crossed the finish an exhausted loser after carrying the maximum handicap weight of 62 kilos.
"It wasn’t meant to be," said John Cordero, who rode Wind Blown in the absence of its regular jockey Fernando Racquel Jr. who is still serving an eight-week suspension for a recent race infraction.
The victory was the 16th in 21 starts for Free Wind, and came just a couple of days before Camu celebrates his birthday on Christmas day. The loss was the first for Wind Blown since March 17 of this year when he bowed to Staunch Ally in the Enrique Romualdez Cup on the same turf.
The last major race of the year was kind even to the losers with the second placer getting P500,000, third P250,00 and fourth P125,000. — Ramon Romualdez