A bull of triumph vanished in the confirmation of Antonio Puerta in Madrid

A good bull from an uneven Araúz de Robles bullfight that averaged 603 kilos on the scale gave the victory to the confirmer Antonio Puerta, who could not take advantage of the opportunity, while a Javier Cortés without options and a brilliant José Garrido at the verónica earned four silences.

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The confirmation bull of the Murcian Antonio Puerta was the one every confirmer would want in Madrid; a serious specimen, but one that fit the muleta, which greedily charged at the horse, putting the stands on positive alert, and which in the muleta charged — as it had done in the first thirds — from below and as far as they took it. With everything in his favor except his limited experience despite the eleven seasons he has accumulated as a matador, the bullfighter only received an ovation after gracefully lancing it with the verónica, and passing it neatly with the muleta, better on the right horn than on the also good left side.

Too little for what the Araúz de Robles specimen offered. If he had killed on the first attempt, they might have asked for the ear with more determination than he finally earned. In the one that closed the ring, Puerta shortened after trying without much conviction, affected by the lack of strength in the charges of his opponent.

The second of the afternoon, first of Javier Cortés’ lot, ended up defending itself after offering some isolated charges from below until the end. The Madrid bullfighter pressed him at the start of the fight, perhaps too demanding, further diminishing the already scarce spark of his meek opponent, without having options either with the wild fourth, which featured a prolonged and not very brilliant tercio de varas.

The magnificent bouquet of verónicas, tight and passionate, and the powerful start of the muleta work bending low with the spirited third made one anticipate an important performance from the author of both passages, José Garrido, although in the end the Extremaduran bullfighter’s work deflated with tense handling of the cape and too many catches.

However, his work before the fifth was commendable given the lack of commitment from the bull, which lowered its head for a moment in the engagement to then come out with its head high and indifferent, preventing aesthetic display, although giving value to Garrido’s firm performance, who was inaccurate when killing.

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