Stud El Tri's Alexandrina leads a field of 17 fillies and mares in the 1 1/4-mile Gran Premio Pamplona (G1) June 23 at Hipódromo de Monterrico in Peru. The winner will receive an automatic starting position and fees paid into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.
The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 82 stakes races in 12 countries whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar in California.
Trained by Eduardo Pianezzi, Alexandrina comes into the race off a dominant 1 1/2-length victory in the May 26 Clasico República Argentina (G3) at 1 1/4 miles over the Monterrico course. The 5-year-old daughter of Singe The Turf has eight wins in 22 starts on the turf at Monterrico, including three last year.
Among the challengers are the third- and fourth-place finishers from the Clasico República Argentina: Stud Jet Set's 3-year-old Fiel Estrellita and Stud Dos G's 5-year-old Raika(PER). Both runners are trained by Juan Suárez Villarroel, one of the world's leading trainers, who has collected more than 10,000 wins in his career.
Fiel Estrellita, a daughter of Il Campione, has raced five times this year, starting with a 7 1/2-furlong allowance win in January. She has been in the money in four of those five outings. She chased Alexandrina in second from the start and into the final furlong of the Clasico República before being nosed out for the runner-up spot at the wire, finishing 1 3/4 lengths behind the winner.
The 5-year-old Raika finished third in last year's Gran Premio Pamplona, and was the runner-up in 2022, finishing a length behind Ola Perfecta. A daughter of Minister's Joy, Raika finished third April 7 in the listed Clasico Ernesto Ayulo Pardo at 1 1/4 miles over the course. In November 2022, she defeated Alexandrina in a 1 1/4-mile allowance race at Monterrico.
A third Villarroel starter is Stud Paracas' 3-year-old Boudica(PER), who returned to the races June 1 after a six-month layoff with a fourth-place finish in a one-mile allowance race at Montericco. A filly by The Lieutenant, Boudica has finished in the top three spots eight times in 10 starts, including a victory in the 2023 Clasico Postin (G2) when she finished third by a neck, but was moved up to first through disqualification of the first two finishers.
Also of interest is Stud Juan De Arona's Macanuda, bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation. Since beginning her career last November, the 4-year-old daughter of Noble Mission has been in the money in all five of her starts and has two victories. In her most recent start at Monterrico she finished second, 1 1/2 lengths behind Queen Sienna in the listed Clasico Ernesto Ayulo Pardo, and ahead of third-place finisher Raika.
As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the winner of the Gran Premio Pamplona to start in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Breeders' Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 21 to receive the rewards.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
