3 minute read
Mick Appleby's fine week at Glorious Goodwood continued when Big Evs bravely fended off Asfoora in the five-furlong Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Mick Appleby's stable star gained revenge on his Royal Ascot conqueror Asfoora when hanging tough to fend off the Australian ace on the Sussex Downs.
Henry Dwyer's charge arrived having put up a high-class performance in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, but with Goodwood's speedy downhill track an unknown, punters were keen to side with the well-backed 13/8 chance Big Evs.
And it proved rightly so, as last year's Group 3 Molcomb Stakes winner used his proven early pace to good advantage.
The Czech raider Ponntos showed his customary blitzing pace to lead the field through the first half of the contest, but as his effort began to peter out, the eye was drawn to Big Evs.
Tom Marquand booted his mount to the head of proceedings with a couple of furlongs to travel and with a smart turn of foot he quickly put some distance between himself and his rivals. The challengers began to close, with Asfoora and Believing, who both held up off the early pace, flying late to enter the picture.
Asfoora continued to edge closer as she bid to back up her Royal Ascot crown, but the line came in time for Tom Marquand and Big Evs, who clung on to prevail by a short-head. The George Boughey-trained Believing finished three-quarters of a length behind in third on her first outing since winning the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh last month.
"Big Evs is one in a million – the best I've trained by a long way," said Mick Appleby. "That was very good. I thought they were going to come and do us at the end, but he's very tough and found a bit more. It was a great ride.
"At Ascot, the ground probably wasn't perfect for us, and the stiff finish is completely different to here. The ground was a lot quicker here as well, so we fancied him today."
Paddy Power cut the winner to 4/1 (from 11/2) for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York later in the month, with the same firm making the runner-up their 3/1 favourite (from 9/2 fav).
Both horses look set to reoppose on the Knavesmire in the five-furlong Group 1 prize staged on the 24th August, with Appleby also suggesting his Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero will likely head back to America for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (Grade 1) at Del Mar in November.
Appleby added: "I'll have to have a chat with Paul to see where we go. We've got the Nunthorpe, possibly the Abbaye if the ground came up quick, which is probably unlikely. I would imagine that whatever happens, we'll be topping it off back in America."
Marquand, who was winning the prize for the first time, said: "Big Evs is fantastic. He's literally got too much speed! Ponntos has exceptional off-the-blocks boot early on and, to be honest, from the three to the two, he was eating up the ground. I was trying to get half a breather in before I went and took the race.
"He's got so much raw boot and trying to tame that; it almost feels like there is no point because he grits down for you as well in that last 100 yards. You don't need to save an awful lot on a track like this for him.
"He's an exceptional racehorse."