VAVAVOOM—with Andrew “Dodong” Villegas on board—was a cut above the rest in topping the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Cup in the rain Sunday at the Metro Turf in Malvar, Batangas.
The five-year-old bay’s domination was in full display as he made his foes scramble for second place in the 1,400-meter race.
Vavavoom was first out of the gates and sustained a torrid pace to win by five lengths with a clocking of one minute and 25.8 seconds on quarter times of 14-22-22-26.
The Dan Camanero-saddled Lucky Lea, CP Henson-ridden Biglang Buhos and JA Guce-mounted Denueis Son settled for crumbs as they settled for second to fourth places, respectively.
For the old hands and fixtures, the lopsided win was as inevitable as the sun rising every morning as Vavavoom is trained by a maestro, grizzled veteran Ruben Tupas, and multi-titled horse owner and breeder, Sandy Javier, a known sportsman who has dabbled in basketball in the past.
“It’s not that surprising because we’ve won all prestigious races,” said Tupas, a many-time trainer of the year awardee.
The proceeds of the race will go to the charity programs of the PSA headed by The Philippine STAR sports editor Nelson Beltran.
“This annual benefit race is for the PSA and we’re here to partner with the sportswriting community and support their advocacies,” Philracom president Reli de Leon said.
De Leon was accompanied in the awarding ceremony by his acting executive director Ronaldo Corpuz and Metro Turf manager Rondy Prado.