Clásico El Ensayo

The Clásico El Ensayo, also known as the Clásico El Ensayo Mega for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Chile open to three-year-olds, run at Club Hípico de Santiago in Santiago, run over a distance of 2,400 metres (1.5 mi).^[1] First run in 1873, it is the fourth oldest horse race in the Americas (after the Queen's Plate, Travers Stakes, and Belmont Stakes), and the oldest in Latin America.^[2]

It is generally considered the most important horse race in Chile, on par with the Epsom Derby, the American classics, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France, and the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini in Argentina.^[2][3] It is the first race in the Chilean Triple Crown.^[2]

El Ensayo is restricted to only horses that have won at least one race.^[4]

The Clásico El Ensayo was first run at a distance of 1200 meters, and has been contested at a variety of distances:^[5][6]

• 1200 meters: 1873-1880
• 1500 meters: 1881-1883
• 1600 meters: 1884-1892
• 1800 meters: 1893-1904, 1908
• 1900 meters: 1905-1907, 1909
• 2000 meters: 1910-1920
• 2300 meters: 1921-1925
• 2400 meters: 1926 to present

Of the first eight editions contested, six were won by horses sired by Fanfarrón.^[3]

The greatest upsets were the 104-1 victory of Parral in 1947^[3] and the 98-1 victory of Cambridge in 2018.^[7]

In the early twentieth century, imported horses could run in the race,^[5] but by the 1950s, the race was restricted to Chilean-bred horses only, a restriction which lasted until 1984.^[8]

The running of 1999 was considered the 'feast of fillies', with fillies coming in first, second, third, and fourth.^[3]

Since 2004, the race has been consistently timed to one-hundredth of a second.^[9]

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was run in December instead of its usual date in late October or early November.^[2]

Speed Record:

• 2:23.21 – Wolf (1990)^[3]
• 2:23 2/5 – Monroe (1986)^[3]

Most wins by a jockey:

• 7 – Carlos M. Zavala (1877, 1881, 1882, 1883, 185, 1887, 1891, 1895)^[3]
• 6 – Luis Torres (1995, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2013)^[3][7]

Most wins by a trainer:

• 8 – Patricio Baeza (2006, 2009, 2012, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023)^[9]
• 7 – Juan Cavieres Mella (1922, 1930, 1934, 1938, 1945, 1954, 1960)^[3][10]
• 6 – Juan Cavieres A. (1982, 1983, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2004)^[3]

Most wins by an owner (since 1954):

• 4 – Stud Matancilla (1980, 1983, 1989, 1992)^[9][7]
• 4 – Stud Don Alberto (2006, 2008, 2016, 2021)^[9][7]

Most wins by a breeder:

• 8 – Haras Santa Isabel (1927, 1963, 1965, 1974, 1978)^[3][9]
• 8 – Haras Matancilla (1976, 1980, 1983, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2009)^[3][9]
• 7 – Haras de Pirque (1988, 1998, 2000)^[3][9]
• 7 – Haras Santa Amelia (1968, 1971, 1982, 1990, 1996, 1997, 2004)^[3][9]

^{[2][8][11][12][13][9]}

* "Mestizo"; not a pure Thoroughbred. Many early Chilean races, including El Ensayo, were open to "mestizo" horses who weren't full Thoroughbred.^[6]

†Esperanza was declared the winner after the disqualification of Stockwell.^[3]

‡Dead-heat between Grimsby and Valeriano, with the win awarded to Grimsby.^[6]

• Official website