Heaven Sent gives rivals hell in first leg of Triple Crown

MANILA, Philippines - In a startling upset on a fine Sunday afternoon at the new Santa Ana Park here, gray filly Heaven Sent put up a brave run, leading from start to finish to win the first leg of the 2009 Triple Crown Series against 10 fellow three-year-olds.

Expertly guided by Class A jockey Rodel Fernandez, Heaven Sent led by as much as three lengths leaving the backstretch and then heroically withstood the challenge of top pick and Louie Balboa-ridden Mr. Diamond to capture the first jewel of this three-leg event.

The daughter of imported sire Heza Gone West and Kiss and Run finished almost a length ahead of Mr. Diamond, who started a big rally from three lengths down as they left the far turn only to see Heaven Sent held her fort in the torrid drive for home.

Owned by businesswoman Rita Pilapil and trained by W. Fernandez, Heaven Sent clocked a fast time of 1 minute and 40.6 seconds (25; 23-1/2’24-1/2; 27-1/2) in winning the 1600-meter race and clinching what was only her second stakes victory in her career.

Before taking this one, Heaven Sent had only one big win to show as she stayed in the shadows of multi-titled and juvenile champ Go Army. That came during the MARHO festival when she topped the special race against five other fillies.

In the richest, biggest juvenile race of them all – the grand championship in December – Heaven Sent continued to play a supporting role to Go Army who dealt her a forgettable beating.

Heaven Sent, who set out as sixth choice, rewarded her owner the top prize of P1.8 million while establishing herself as one of the hottest favorites when she and the others return for the second leg to be disputed over the longer 1,800-m distance at the same track.

Mr. Diamond came in second worth P675,000, longshot Iconic (Jeff Zarate) rallied to salvage third place and the P375,000 prize that went with it and second choice Dream Supreme (John Cordero) settled for fourth place and P150,000.