Don Alberto's 4-year-old homebred Nuevo Maestro—unbeaten in his last eight starts—Las Oaks (G1)-winning filly Penn Rose, and defending champion Top Casablanca lead a field of 11 starters entered in the $82,596 Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (G1) on turf May 21.
The winner of the 1 1/4-mile race will earn an automatic berth into this year's $2 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge.
Nuevo Maestro, trained by Aguirre Guillermo and ridden by Jorge Luis Vergara, comes into Monday's race riding a streak of eight wins that began Oct. 1. Most recently, the son of Ivan Desinovich captured the 1 1/4-mile Otono Pedro Garcia de La Huerta (G2) April 20 by 3 1/4 lengths, his 10th win in 23 career starts.
The Ontono Pedro Garcia was Nuevo Maestro's fourth win of 2018. He began the year with a 5 1/4-length romp in the 1 1/8-mile Alfonso Vial on Jan. 19, then scored by 2 1/4 lengths in the 1 1/4-mile Clasico Verano Arturo Cousino (G2). His toughest win came by a head over stablemate Penn Rose in the 1 1/4-mile Luis Aldunate on March 29.
Penn Rose, also trained by Aguirre for Don Alberto, is a 3-year-old filly by Dylan Thomas. Ridden by Jeremy Laprida, Penn Rose won the Dec. 29 Las Oaks at Club Hipico and then challenged males in the 1 1/2-mile El Derby (G1) Feb. 4, finishing second to Leitone by 1 1/4 lengths. Following her close second-place finish to Nuevo Maestro in the Luis Aldunate, Penn Rose returned to the winner's circle April 27, taking the 1 1/8-mile Carlos Campino by five lengths at Club Hipico.
The 6-year-old Top Casablanca won last year's Club Hipico Falabella by a half-length. Following that win, Top Casablanca finished first or second in his next six starts, including a half-length win in the 1 1/4-mile Primavera Hernan Braun (G3) Nov. 26. Top Casablanca, 11-for-36 lifetime, will be ridden by Jorge Gonzalez.
The Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella is the second Breeders' Cup Challenge race to be run in South America this year. On May 1, 5-year-old mare Sinfonia Fantastica won the Gran Premio Criadores (G1) at Palermo in Buenos Aires and earned an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1).
The Breeders' Cup Challenge, a series of 82 international stakes races, gives the winners a fees-paid guaranteed entry into a corresponding race of the Nov. 2-3 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
As a part of the benefits of the Challenge series, Breeders' Cup will also provide a $40,000 travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by Oct. 22 to receive the rewards.
