Haras de Moro's 4-year-old Quarteto De Cordas wore down Arrocha in the final yards to win the1 1/2-mile Grande Premio Brasil (G1) at Hipodromo Gavea by a neck June 10. In doing so the Rock of Gibraltar colt gained an automatic entry into this year's $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge series.
As a part of the benefits of the series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees and provide a $40,000 travel allowance for Quarteto de Cordas to start in the 1 1/2-mile Breeders' Cup Turf.
Trained by Luiz Esteves and ridden to victory by Luan Machado, Quarteto De Cordas won his second race of 2018 after making five starts this year. He captured the one-mile Grande Premio Jose Buarque de Macedo (G3) in January, and finished second a month later in the Grande Premio Estado do Rio de Janeiro (G1) by a half-length. He followed that effort with two seventh-place finishes in group 1 races, and most recently a fifth-place place finish in the May 12 Grande Premio Doutor Frontin (G2) going 1 1/2 miles.
Sunday's win was his second group 1 score after taking the 2017 Prova Especial Roi Normand at Gavea.
Or Noir, part of the favored entry with Orange Box, closed strongly in the middle of the course to finish just three-quarters of a length back in third, followed by Olimpo in fourth, and Easiest Way in fifth in a 19 horse field.
Esteves also trained the winner of last year's Grande Premio Brasil with Voador Magee.
The Grande Premio Brasil was the fourth Breeders' Cup Challenge race to be run in South America this year. The filly La Extrana Dama won the Gran Premio Internacional 25 de Mayo - Copa Dr. Enrique Olivera (G1) at San Isidro in Buenos Aires and earned an automatic berth into the Longines Turf. On May 21, 4-year-old Nuevo Maestro won the Gran Premio Club Hipico de Santiago Falabella (G1) in Chile for a free berth into the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), and the 5-year-old mare Sinfonia Fantastica won the May 1 Gran Premio Criadores (G1) at Hippodromo Argentino de Palermo and earned an automatic berth into the Longines Distaff (G1).
