It is hard to believe that it was four decades ago that Dahlia won her second Benson & Hedges Gold Cup at York, the race that is now the Juddmonte International. It might even surprise you more to be reminded that the race was only inaugurated in 1972, when Roberto beat four opponents to land the prize for Ireland.
Roberto was owned by John Galbreath and trained by Vincent O’Brien who engaged the Panamanian-born jockey Braulio Baeza to ride the colt. Winner of two Eclipse awards and inducted into the US Racing Hall of Fame in 1976, Baeza had a short career in the saddle and his York victory was his only significant success outside the USA. He won the Kentucky Derby in 1963 on Chateaugay, the colt that provided him with the second of his three Belmont Stakes victories.
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