Porfido, winner of Saturday’s second race, is a 10-year-old import from Chile. His original U.S. trainer was the late Hall of Fame legend Bobby Frankel. Upon Frankel’s death, Porfido was trained by Frankel assistant Humberto Ascanio. And when Ascanio experienced health problems at the end of 2011, Porfido was transferred to the barn of Eoin Harty.
Saturday’s win was the third in seven starts for Harty and the 13th in 56 lifetime efforts for Porfido. Jockey Patrick Valenzuela, 49, who had ridden Porfido to back-to-back wins at Del Mar in August and September of 2011, was aboard for the first time since last October, a span of eight starts.
“He’s a nice horse to have around,” Harty said. “He’s in a class of his own. I think I’ve seen a couple of 8-year-olds, but he’s probably the oldest horse on the grounds that’s still racing.”
Porfido went off at 8-1, but the win wasn’t a surprise to Harty.
“If you run him at the right level, he’s still got a lot of piss and vinegar left in the tank,” Harty said. “He doesn’t have any major (physical) issues. There’s no reason why he can’t continue to race and race well for the foreseeable future.