Matuso finds his groove in Andrew HB Aguilar Cup
Richard Azan’s Matuso found his groove in his third career start, suiting up with the blinkers and first-time Lasix for a comfortable win in the $1.01-million Andrew HB Aguilar Memorial Cup over one mile (800m) on Saturday, December 16, 2023.
Matuso, who is bred by Casual Trick out of the Adore The Gold Classic winning mare Puddy Pooh, won the maiden special weight event for native-bred two-year-olds by a length and a quarter in a time of 1:42.2 (24.4 x 47.3 x 1:13.2).
Matuso broke out strongly at the start of the race and settled in second place behind Rosetta (Jerome Innis) reaching the intersection at the 7-furlong (1,400m) with Tevin Foster in the saddle. Matuso continued his steady run down the backstretch before charging to the front as the half-mile (800m) turn approached.
Matuso increased his lead over his adversaries as he approached the distance. Although Matuso appeared to be shortening in the stretch for a race to the wire, the bay colt was not for catching and won handily at the wire.
Blu Sensation (Raddesh Roman) came home in second place with Rosetta finishing in third spot. Rosetta had initially finished second but was disqualified for causing interference to Blu Sensation.
“He [Matuso] shortened a bit in the straight but it is only his third run. He won and that’s the most important thing. He is improving because he ran third twice and now he has won so he going in the right direction,” Azan told the Jamaica Observer‘s The Supreme Racing Guide.
“We now look forward with him and hope he goes on and keeps improving and that he turns out to be a nice colt,” Azan added.