By Adam Corndorf
Il Mercato (Arg) (Not For Sale {Arg}), a last out winner of the G1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Dec. 15, was scheduled to depart Friday from Buenos Aires to Miami to continue his racing career in the U.S. under the care of trainer Chad Brown. Owners Robert LaPenta and Sol Kumin's Madaket Stable have purchased an interest. Ricardo and Nicolas Benedicto's Stud Rubio B, original owners of the bay, will retain an interest as well.
According to Kumin, Fernando Diaz-Valdes brokered the deal.
“The horse won an extremely prestigious race in South America and we think he can be a top-level turf horse going long in the U.S.,” Kumin told TDN. “He will get to Chad and we will give the horse plenty of time to acclimate to America, and if all goes well, he will be pointed to a summer and fall campaign. We have been successful bringing horses to the U.S. from South America in the past with horses like two-time Grade I winner Dacita (Chi) (Scat Daddy), and Chad was also successful with Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) and Wow Cat (Chi) (Lookin At Lucky) last year, so we hope we can get lucky with this one.”
Bred by La Pasion, Il Mercato held off former champion Sixties Song (Arg) (Sixties Icon {GB}) to win the 2018 Pellegrini. He was also third behind For the Top (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg}) in the G1 Gran Premio Nacional-Argentine Derby, upon whom he turned the tables in the Pellegrini.
A Nov. 9 foal, Il Mercato was previously trained by Juan Carlos Maldotti, a four-time Pellegrini winner. With his victory in the Pellegrini, Il Mercato earned a spot to run in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park as part of the 'Win and You're In' program that the series.
“Having qualified for the Breeders' Cup by winning the Pellegrini opened doors to different situations, and to keep a piece of the horse and to think big was very exciting for us,” said Nicolas Benedicto. “The horse will have a great trainer with Mr. Brown; he already showed that South Americans fit him well, as with Robert Bruce and Wow Cat. Our partners are important and very serious. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Julio Biancardi who, when he bought the horse at our farm, invited us to participate.”
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