Splitting horses in a furious stretch drive, Agricola Haras Jockey's 3-year-old Lukka nipped stablemate Mi Elegido by a nose to win Sunday's Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (G1) at Club Hipico de Santiago.
With the victory, the son of Lookin At Lucky earned an automatic berth and fees paid in the $2-million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.
Lukka, a son of two-time North American champion Lookin At Lucky out of the Kitten's Joy mare Antic, completed the 1 1/4 miles in 1:59.11 over a turf course listed as good.
Sent away as the 9-5 favorite in the 12-horse field and ridden by Jorge Gonzalez, Lukka sat comfortably off the pace through the first half-mile in seventh place, while longshot Gamberetti shot to the lead followed closely by 11-1 Mi Elegido, Netinna, and the filly Mama Lili.
Approaching the far turn, Netinna made a strong move on the outside into second place while Mi Elegido saved ground along the rail and surged to the front. As the field spread apart, Gonzalez aboard Lukka began a concerted drive inside the final quarter mile and came off the rail to pass tiring horses, with stablemate Mama Lili just to his outside also making up significant ground. Jockey Gonzalo Ulloa desperately urged Mi Elegido to hold off the fast-closing Lukka but had to settle for second, with Mama Lili just a neck behind in third. The filly Costa Del Norte finished behind Mama Lili, and completed a sweep of the first four positions for trainer Patricio Baeza.
Sunday's win was Lukka's second consecutive Group 1 victory. Showing his versatility, Lukka won the 1 3/8-mile Gran Premio Hipodromo Chile (G1) on dirt April 29. Before that, he finished second in the El Derby (G1) on turf at Valparaiso Sporting Club in Santiago. Lukka has now won three races from nine starts.
Lukka joins Al Muthana, winner of the L'Ormarins King's Plate (G1) in South Africa in January, as the first horses to gain automatic berths into this year's Fan Duel Breeders' Cup Mile.
Now in its 16th season, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 80 stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race at the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
As a part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for Lukka to start in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile. Breeders' Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships.
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