Don Gato's 3-year-old gelding Viejos Tiempos stormed to the front in the final quarter-mile to win Sunday's 1 ¼-mile Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (G1) by 2 ¾ lengths over Visorio at Club Hipico de Santiago.
With the victory, Viejos Tiempos, ridden by Javier Guajardo, earned an automatic starting berth in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win and You're In” series.
The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 82 stakes races whose winners receive free berths and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on Nov. 4-5.
Viejos Tiempos joins Jet Dark, winner of the L'Omarins Queen's Plate (G1) in South Africa on Jan. 8, as the first two horses to secure Win and You're In berths into this year's FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile.
A son of two-time Eclipse Award winner Lookin At Lucky, Viejos Tiempos, trained by Patricio Baeza, completed the 1 ¼ miles in 1:59.04 over a good course for his third consecutive win in nine starts, and first Group 1 triumph.
Viejos Tiempos, 7-1, broke alertly in the 13-horse field and saved ground along the rail while Calfun and Keltoi set the pace through the first six furlongs. Visorio, 17-1, took up the challenge and grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch. Guajardo then angled Viejos Tiempos off the rail, made a determined bid for the lead, and surged past Visorio just inside the quarter pole for the victory. The 2-1 favorite Nenufar Azul, a 3-year-old filly, rallied to finish third, followed by El Expreso in fourth.
Viejos Tiempos won his previous two races at Club Hipico, including a 1 ¾-length victory in a 1 ¼-mile conditional stakes race on May 6.
As a part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for Viejos Tiempos to start in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile. Breeders' Cup will also provide a $40,000 travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships.
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