Basheirrou a win away from Triple Crown sweep

Wielding command for all of 1,800 meters on Sunday afternoon, Basheirrou, a sprinter, is now within a jewel of a Triple Crown sweep after ruling the second leg at Metro Turf in Malvar, Batangas.

The chestnut colt by Brigand out of Allemeuse responded to the brilliant handling of Kelvin Abobo, breaking out hard and then setting a gentle pace before thwarting a charging cavalry in the final straight to get a shot at being just the 13th horse to rule the prestigious series next month.

“We’re very happy,” Abobo said in Filipino, moments after guiding his courageous mount to a time of one minute and 51 seconds broken down in 14, 23, 24, 23, 27 for a 1.5-length win over Radio Bell. “Just winning a leg is satisfying enough. Now we have a chance to sweep.

“My mount is a sprinter, so definitely, the added 200 meters [from the first leg] was a concern,” Abobo said. “But we really prepared our horse for this.”

The win was worth another P2.1 million for the connections of Basheirrou, but more than that, the chance to be immortalized as a Triple Crown champ will be the driving force for every member of the team next month. INQ