MANILA, Philippines - Highly touted imported galloper Sakima (USA) was far too classy as he easily dominated the first Henry Cojuangco Cup at the jampacked San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite recently.
The odds-on favorite in the featured challenge race among the country’s top racers, the five-year-old chestnut horse rallied from fourth spot in the early going, thundered past the leaders rounding the final bend and kicked clear into the lead in the final stretch to win by seven widening lengths.
“He has plenty of horse left and I cannot speculate how much farther he can still improve,” said rider John Alvin Guce, who has ridden Sakima in all of his local outings.
The celebrated US import, undefeated in five local starts, was hardly challenged in the 1,750-meter track encounter which he completed in 1:50.4, well off the 1:48 track record jointly held by past champions Real Spicy and Ibarra.
A progeny of two-time US Horse of the Year Curlin out of the Unbridled’s Song mare Queen of Kills, Sakima, the Native American name for “king”, lived up to his lofty billing as the undisputed kingpin of local horse racing.
“I am still at a loss for words to describe the feeling of Sakima’s win, an impulse buy last year at Fasig Tipton Sale in Kentucky, which I only hoped would be good enough to win a couple of races and be able to stand as a stallion later in his career,” said Oliver “Jojo” Velasquez, owner of SC Stockfarm in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
As it turned out, Velasquez got more than what he bargained for as Sakima has already won two major classic races in only three months and is currently in the cusp of dominating the open division in the future. Local champion Low Profile outpaced imported race mare Atomicseventynine (USA) down the wire to settle for second, followed by Kanlaon, Manalig Ka, Dixie Gold and Skyway.
The race was held in honor of the late horseman and Tarlac First District Representative Henry Cojuangco.