Albacete Sept.10: Disastrous bulls from Daniel Ruiz

I will keep today’s report relatively short as there’s a long drive ahead of us today to Valladolid – and also there’s not much to relate about yesterday’s corrida, spoilt by a poor string of bulls from the local ganadero, Daniel Ruiz. None of these animals provided any excitement or much sense of danger; in the main, they had to be coaxed through their lidia, the toreros trying to bring off stylish single passes or, on rare occasions, linked series. Given the talents of the matadors concerned, this was a dispiriting occasion.

Antonio Ferrera drew the two worst animals - his first bull had to be nursed through its lidia to keep it on its feet, while the fourth was a dreadful, stumbling animal, unable to turn without falling down. The result was that the extremeño may as well have not been there, all hopes for some toreo that was a bit different from the norm evaporated.

Jose Maria Manzanares is reportedly on a roll and, after some opening verónicas and media in the centre of the ring, a profound and complete series of derechazos early on in the faena to his opening bull heralded great things. He couldn’t sustain that level of toreo, however, the remaining derechazos and naturales still curving the bull around him, but at a distance. This common failing of the alicantino was evident with his second bull too. Here the animal was best on its left horn, but for some reason Manzanares kept switching the muleta from one hand to the other. A strong sword to his first bull helped net him an ear, and a half-sword sufficed on his other animal, the president awarding a further oreja.

The president became a protagonist when she refused to acknowledge a majority petition for an ear after Emilio de Justo’s first bull. The faena was a very good one, Emilio calmly producing variety with the muleta, including de frente passes with the legs apart and together, and keeping the bull close as he moved it past. A pinchazo and a bajonazo prevented this spectator from reaching for his handkerchief, but most of today’s onlookers were more forgiving. Emilio took a vuelta and the crowd showed its displeasure towards the president.

By the time the last of the day’s bulls entered the ring, de Justo was probably feeling even more hard done by, as the quality of his work on his previous animal had certainly exceeded that of the ear-winning performance of Manzanares with the fifth bull. Determined to succeed, he opened with some superb verónicas and a media before taking the bull to the picador with some close walking chicuelinas. After the sole vara, there were excellent pairs of banderillas from Gómez Odero and Manuel Valcárcel. Emilio dedicated to the public. The faena took a while to get going, but eventually de Justo secured fine series of passes with each hand before closing with manoletinas. Two swordthrusts were needed to kill the bull, but then the handkerchiefs came out again and, this time, the president responded.

For me, this had been a corrida in which I had high hopes spoilt by the quality of the bulls. In today’s La Tribuna, Pedro Belmonte writes that Daniel Ruiz’s encierro had delivered spectacle, that some “important bulls” were involved and that the corrida had been “pleasing, both in terms of presentation and comportment”. If this is the fodder that today’s audiences are being told they should be grateful for, God save the corrida!