IN HIS most productive month so far in the racing season, lawyer-businessman Narciso Morales garnered 14 wins in July to take the No. 1 spot in money winnings among horse owners even as Mark Angelo Alvarez stayed on top in the jockeys’ category.
Morales, the runaway winner of Philracom’s Most Reputable Horse Owner award last year, dislodged Jade Bros. Farm from the top spot, thanks to a winning spree that was highlighted by Spectrum’s overpowering victory in a special PCSO Maiden Race late last month.
That PCSO win gave Morales a prize of P600,000, boosting the sportsman’s seven-month winnings to P8,577,395 on 51 wins and 56 runner-up, 57 third and 85 fourth place finishes to lead long-time leader Jade Bros. (P7,483,508 on 58-38-46-49 record) by P1,093,887.
“I thank my grooms, trainers and jockeys for preparing my horses well and the fans for supporting them,” he said. “I guess luck was on our side last month.”
Morales, who’s been in the horse racing industry for almost four decades now, is hopeful his other promising juvenile named Hot Dog would be as successful as Spectrum when she competes in another rich PCSO Maiden race next month.
“My team is preparing her (Hot Dog) well. I’m confident she will give her rivals a good fight,” said Morales, who has some 50 horses stabled in Rancho Narciso in Lipa City.
For the third straight month, Alvarez remained on top among jockeys with total winnings of P2,449,157 built around 112 wins in 539 rides as he led Fernando Racquel, Jr (P2,093,553) and Jonathan Hernandez (P2,062,127).
Skyway emerged the winningest horse after seven months with winnings of P3,139,739 on five wins and two runner-up finishes, ahead of 2015 Triple Crown’s first leg champion Superv (P3,003,949).
There were changes in the trainers’ division with Ruben Tupas showing the way with earnings of P2,124,546 on 128 wins.
Other notable horses in Morales’ stable are Gentle Irony, Kukurukuku Paloma, Taliliba-nana and Dikoridik Koridak, his busiest runner at the moment.