NAIC, Cavite—With top imported horse Gentle Irony out of the starting field, multi-titled Yes Pogi will start as overwhelming favorite in the Philracom Amethyst 1, second leg of the Imported-Local Challenge series set this afternoon at the Santa Ana Park here.

Gentle Irony sustained a minor foot injury while in the midst of a workout under Jesse Guce last week, leaving owner lawyer Narciso O. Morales with no choice but to scratch him in the   event which offers P300,000 to the champion.

The absence of Gentle Irony in the list of starters may mean an expected romp by local galloper Yes Pogi, the 2010 horse of the year who will be handled by Jeff Zarate  when he battles five imported runners in the 1700—meter event.

Next Big Thing, Rain Shower, Dona Nenita, Indy Hay and Merry are the other bidders in the race scheduled at 3:30 p.m., which is the main event of a well-balanced 12-race program starting at 2 o’clock.

“ It’s sad he (Gentle Irony ) is not running. Although the injury is minor, I’ve decided not to let him run tomorrow (Sunday).Instead, we’ll  prepare him for the much-bigger races ahead,” said Morales, who came in a strong second to sportsman Putch Puyat in money winnings in 2011.

Gentle Irony, undeniably the biggest earner in Morales’ stable, became the finest among the imported runners in the last season after sweeping five stakes races in a fiery performance that endeared him to the fans.

The horse, bought by Morales from former Batangas governor Armand Sanchez for P500,000, picked up from where he left off last year, capturing the Garnet stakes in wire-to-wire fashion as he opened his 2012 campaign with a bang.

With no Gentle Irony to worry about, Yes Pogi, a respected stayer who came close to winning the 2010 Triple Crown series, will most likely make mincemeat of the opposition since he likes running the longer distances.

Gentle Irony’s favorite running mate, Juggling Act, was not  entered also in the event after earlier getting injured. The two horses, according to Morales, were supposed to run as coupled entries in the Amethyst event.

“Sayang. They compliment each other. One is a stayer and the other a sprinter,”  said Morales, adding that noted horseowner Hermie Esguerra is interested in buying both Juggling Act and Gentle Irony and making them stallions in the future.    (Joe Antonio)