Argentine race offers berth in BC Distaff to winner

The Group 1 winners Kiriaki, Hispanidad and Kononkop are part of a field of eight in Monday’s Group 1 Gran Premio Criadores in Palermo, Argentina, a race that offers an automatic berth for the winner to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on Nov. 3.

The Gran Premio Criadores is run at 1 1/4 miles. The BC Distaff is run at 1 1/8 miles.

Kiriaki won the Group 1 Gran Premio Gilberto Lerena at 1 3/8 miles on turf at Palermo on April 1, and was a Group 1 winner in 2016.

Hispanidad won the Group 1 Gran Premier Polla de Pontrancas last September. Kononkop won 2 of 5 starts in 2016, including the Group 1 Gran Premio Pontracas at San Isidro, Argentina, last May.

Kiriaki was second in the 2016 Gran Premio Criadores to Corona Del Inca. Sadly, Corona Del Inca broke down in early stretch of the BC Distaff at Santa Anita last November.

The Gran Premio Criadores is the first of five stakes in South America that award automatic berths for Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 3-4. The winners receive automatic berths, provided they are eligible for the Breeders’ Cup program when pre-entries are taken on Oct. 23.