SEPI Sociedad Estatal de Participaciones Industriales

• Twin victory for the trainer José Carlos Cerqueira with Kuvasz and Mahón
• Borja Fayos keeps his lead in the record after winning with Mahón and with Guzmán el Bueno

An exciting inaugural race meeting of the 75th anniversary of the HIPODROMO DE LA ZARZUELA in which, after the winter hiatus, enthusiasm and longing for horse racing were perceptible. The good weather accompanied the more than 5,000 persons who filled up Madrid’s horse racetracks.

Kuvasz, who did not start as the favorite, was the best of the 3-year old horses in the Optional Handicap. The colt from the stable Cuadra Sian Ka An, trained by José Carlos Cerqueira and rode by José Luis Borrego, won his first recorded victory, running by the railings, overtaking Mordan on the last few meters by one length, in spite of the fact that it was the latter who set the pace during the race. Behind them took place the fight for the third and fourth places between the two favorites, Alfieri and Pephermo, who were one head apart. The winning triple had a 270.50 € payout.

Pablo Font Prize

This was the first victory of the trainer José Carlos Cerqueira, who also won in the first race in the meeting, the Pablo Font Prize, with Mahón. Getting into the starting gates was difficult for the colt from the stable Cuadra Mediterráneo, but once the race began, he took the head of the pack and won with ease. After him, and without being a menace for the winner, arrived second Igollo de Camargo, and almost three lengths behind arrived very close Nader and Shesspirr.

The current leader in the jockey’s record, Borja Fayos, began the season with flying colors, winning twice; the first leading Mahón, and afterwards in the Martín Domínguez Prize with Guzmán el Bueno. This was the second race, and it was won from beginning to end and without any trouble by the horse trained by Juan Luis Maroto, and owned by the stable Cuadra El Fargue. One length behind arrived second Half a Billion, while the third place went to Sweet Taboo. The payout for this triple of winners reached 236.60 €.

In the race for the Lototurf, the Luis de Goyeneche Prize, it was Lince who got at the head of the pack on the home straight, but on the last few meters before the finish line, Kirilovich, from the stable Cuadra Kaela and trained by Román Martín Vidania, sprinted from the middle of the pack and won in a gentle but overwhelming way, under the reigns of José Luis Martínez. Argali arrived third, thus granting to the winning triple, 3 – 2 – 8, a 442.90 € payout. The double had a 675.20 € payout.

A surprising result in the Peña Ramiro Prize with the triumph of Vicarage from the stable Cuadra Las Águilas, trained by Teodoro Callejo, who made all the race at the head, led by Nicolás de Julián. A few meters before the finish line Giggolo Star and Tafadhali got close behind him, in a fierce fight for the second place, producing a triple without any lottery winner and producing a 7,352 jackpot €. The twin bet 7 9 was paid at 167.50 €, and double at 583.50 €.

Very easy victory for Andalucía, rode by Julien Grojean, in the sixth race, the Fernán Núñez Prize. The mare from the stable Cuadra Popular, trained by Guillermo Arizkorreta, clearly imposed herself by two and a half lengths on Mythical Clover who, in turn, arrived more than five lengths ahead of Mad Dog.

At the end of the races we could watch the preparatory work made by Diego Valor for participating in the Edmond Blanc Prize on April 3rd. The horse from the stable Cuadra Odisea clearly overtook his rivals and mates from the stable, Buscavidas and Oboe, showing its clear superiority over them.

The Quíntuple Plus for March 6th is made up by the following numbers: 3 – 8 – 7 – 3 – 6 – 4.

The next race meeting at the Hipódromo de La Zarzuela will be on Sunday March 13th. At 11:30 am will begin the first of the six races in the program, being the Chamartín Prize the most outstanding.

HZ and Grupo SEPI

Hipódromo de La Zarzuela is part of Patrimonio Histórico Nacional, and its grandstands are regarded as one of Madrid’s twentieth Century architectural masterpieces. The facility covers a 110-hectare surface with a high ecological value, the equivalent to ten soccer fields, and it has first-level facilities on a privileged location within the city of Madrid, which means that the horse racetracks constitute the most important green lung of the Spanish capital, together with the historical El Retiro Park.

HIPÓDROMO DE LA ZARZUELA belongs to Grupo SEPI a corporate holding which includes a total of 16 state-owned companies in which it has direct, majority shareholding participations, with a final workforce of around 73,000 professionals in 2014; the Spanish state-owned television and radio corporation, Corporación Radiotelevisión Española, which is attached to SEPI, and one public foundation. Equally, SEPI has direct minority shareholdings in a further ten companies, and indirect shareholdings in more than one hundred companies.