OSAF Raising South America’s Profile

With a purse of $500,000 (U.S.), the Longines Gran Premio Latinoamericano (G1) March 5 at Valparaiso Sporting Club in Vina del Mar, Chile, is the highest-profile race of the year in South America. The hope for the 1 1/2-mile turf event is to help serve as a benchmark in the classification/ranking of the continent’s best horses internationally.

That is the one of the goals of OSAF, or Organización Latinoamericana de Fomento del Pura Sangre de Carrera. The continent-wide organization is designed to raise the bar while promoting the sport globally and it also puts up the lion’s share of the purse for the Latinoamericano.

Working in partnership with sponsor Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorties (IFHA), OSAF has been able to move the needle internationally over the past few years.

Louis Romanet, head of IFHA, reported that 23 South American-bred and -raced horses appeared in last year’s international classifications, by far the most ever. Juddmonte Farm’s Arrogate was the highest-rated horse of 2016, earning the distinction the "World's Best Racehorse," and Sixties Song (ARG) is the highest-rated South American horse on the list. Winner of the Carlos Pelligrini (G1) in December, the grandson of Galileo is one of the favorites for the Latinoamericano and may be the first to take advantage of a partnership with Ascot Race Course in England to represent the continent in this summer’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1).

Earlier in the week, Carlo Rossi Soffia, owner of Valparaiso Sporting, was re-elected president of OSAF. Another high-profile board member is Carlos Heller Solari, owner of Club Hípico de Santiago in Chile and owner of Don Alberto Corp., which purchased Vinery farm in Kentucky and owns 3-year-old filly star Unique Bella.

“The objective of the OSAF is to move the races forward in South America and to work to advance the racing here and work on medication,” Solari said. “We’ve moved to no medication in 2-year-old racing and group 1, 2, 3 races.”

Three-year-olds and up running in non-graded stakes are allowed the use of Lasix and Bute.

An assessment of the racing scene in South America points to the programs in Chile and Argentina to be the best, according to Uruguay journalist Hector Garcia. Garcia notes racing in his country is on the rise as Peru holds its own and Brazil’s racing product is slipping.

For the Latinoamericano, Garcia is upbeat on the field that also includes the first two finishers of Chile’s El Derby (G1)—Full Of Luck (CHI) and Tinku (CHI) (both by Lookin At Lucky  ) over the local track, and Uruguay’s group 1-winning Gandhi Di Job (BRZ).

Several of South America’s stars have made their way north to the richer races in the United States. Invasor (ARG) and Candy Ride   come immediately to mind.

The long-range goal of the OSAF is to one day have horses ship south for races such as the Latinoamericano. Next year’s running will take place at Maroñas in Uruguay.