AS expected, Morally and Varatti triumphed in the third and final legs of the Prince Cup and King’s Gold Cup races at the Metro Turf racing club in Malvar, Batangas.
Despite the inclement weather, Triple Crown winner Morally (Motown-Street Rally by Street Sense), handled by jockey Mark Alvarez, overcame gate trouble and a poor start to handily beat Tiz the Moon in the 1,600-meter Prince Cup, clocking 1:38.4.
The win was worth P7 million for Morally, owned by GR Gaerlan and trained by Ernesto Roxas.
Second leg winner Varatti (Into Mischief-Artemis by Empire Maker) stalked first leg winner Sherbet Fountain and ruled the third leg of the King’s Cup Gold Cup, also winning P7 million.
Owned by James Rabano and trained by Ramon Nartea, Varatti, patiently ridden by jockey Jeff Zarate, took the lead at the far turn and finished with a very fast time of 1:36 in the mile race.
Sharing the spotlight were Caloocan Zap (JD Flores) that won over Modern Stroke and California King in the first race for the inaugural memorial races for the late MMTC founder Dr. Norberto Quisumbing and imported galloper Ace of Diamonds, which won the second trophy race over Brichton and Blue Mind Theory.
The two memorial races carried a total prize of P3 million.
The three-day racing event of 24 races amassed total gross sales of P97,080,803.
