Borja Jiménez: An Over-the-Top Grand Entrance in Tribute to the Great Victorino

It was necessary to wait until six in the evening for the celebration to regain its breath after five bulls of very uneven performance, which did not allow for the bulls to shine—some were dull, others invalid or lacking in spirit. This was all in the corrida in memory of the great Victorino Martín, father of the current breeder, who passed away in 2017.

But then Milhijas came out, weighing 594 kilos, who humbled under the cape of Borja Jiménez, first nodding, and pushed on the first stick, and came long and fulfilled abundantly on the second; he showed enthusiasm for the banderillas, and in the muleta, he was a chocolate bonbon on the left horn.

And his fighter, who had handled him comfortably and skillfully to the center of the ring, cited him with the left hand, and in four sets, the quality of the bull emerged, digging into the sand with its snout on each charge, and the disposition of the torero, who drew long, connected passes, highly cheered by an easily pleased audience in need of ears.

There were moments of great interest, long chest passes, top-class naturals, and a single set to the right, in which the bull showed its displeasure. Borja Jiménez struck accurately with the sword, but the animal refused to die, and an alert sounded before it finally succumbed in the ring.

That final scene, so favored by modern fans, contributed to a strong demand for the victorino’s return to the ring and the two ears for the torero.

Perhaps, there should be no more obstacle for Milhijas than his lack of depth on the right horn; regarding the torero’s work, it should be noted that it was good, at the level of his opponent, but there was an impression that it was not a round, solid, captivating performance worthy of the highest trophies.

Nevertheless, he exited through the Main Gate. Victorino Martín García accompanied him on his shoulders, without justification for such a high honor after five bulls that left the reputation of the breeding farm very much in the air.

Because the corrida declined from the first bull, dull, bland, and challenging, like the second. The third was invalid, which Borja killed with a poorly struck sword that was uncharacteristic of a torero of his caliber; the fourth was lacking in spirit and the fifth was noble and demanding. Overall, there were no merits for the breeder to be accepted to be carried out on shoulders by the crowd.

Emilio de Justo paraded an ear for a great sword on the fifth, which charged at the cape with spirit and came to the muleta with greedy and demanding speed that the torero could not control. It was a long, uneven, irregular performance, where he never found the path to success until the final death blow. With the second, complicated and having its head loose at the end of each pass, he did not go beyond being in tune.

Ureña drew five top-class naturals to his first, dull and not humbled, who went from less to more, with whom the torero showed willingness, but did not reach the desired emotion beyond that set with the left hand and some long passes aided from below at the end. He could not make an impression against the lacking spirit fourth.

It’s remarkable how things work. A celebration that was heading downhill into boredom regained its joy in the sixth and prompted the Main Gate for a torero and the breeder. Good, but remembering the experience, neither of them deserved it.