Big Evs and Tom Marquand victorious in the Juvenile Turf Sprint (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
ARCADIA, Calif.— RP Racing LTD.’s Big Evs (IRE) ($8.40) took command in the upper stretch and then held off a late bid from Valiant Force by a half-length to win the sixth running of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) for 2-year-olds to kick off Future Stars Friday at the 40th World Championships at Santa Anita.
Trained by Michael Appleby and ridden by Tom Marquand, Big Evs covered the 5 furlongs on a firm turf course in :55.31. It is the first Breeders’ Cup victory for Appleby and Marquand.
Big Evs was involved in a three-horse scramble with Crimson Advocate and Tiger Belle (IRE) in the run down the backside and continued on into the turn with Crimson Advocate. In the stretch, Big Evs took over, opened a daylight margin and was well clear to hold off the challenge from Valiant Force.
The victory was worth $520,000 and increased Big Evs’ earnings to $748,283 with a record of 6-4-1-0.
Big Evs is a son of Blue Point (IRE) out of the Oasis Dream (GB) mare Hana Lina (GB).
Stakes Quotes:
Winning trainer Michael Appleby,Big Evs (IRE) – “I can’t believe it. He’s been an absolute superstar all year and to come here and put in a performance like that is unreal. Going into the race I thought he had an outstanding chance, and when Tom (Marquand) rode him in a breeze earlier in the week he couldn’t have been more bullish. We’ll enjoy it as it’s a dream to be here never mind go and win. Hopefully he comes out the race in good order then we’ll make a plan for next season. He really is a horse of a lifetime for us. I can’t thank the team at home enough for all their hard work.”
Winning jockey Tom Marquand, Big Evs (IRE) – “Just amazing. Once he got out the gates and we got in an early position, I knew we wouldn’t be far away. Turning for home nothing was going to catch him. He put his head down and galloped all the way to the line. To ride a Breeders’ Cup winner is a dream come true. He’s just an exceptional horse.”
“Just amazing. Once he got out the gates and we got in an early position I knew we wouldn’t be far away. Turning for home nothing was going to catch him. He put his head down and galloped all the way to the line. To ride a Breeders’ Cup winner is a dream come true. He’s just an exceptional horse.”
Trainer Adrian Murray, second with Valiant Force –“He ran brilliant I’m very, very happy. We had always wanted to bring him here, but we had a hard time fitting a race in between because the weather had been so bad in Ireland. It was soft ground last time and he’s a fast-ground horse. It’s no surprise for him to prove he was this class. He had a run before ascot and things didn’t go his way, so I suppose people turned off on him, but we have always thought a lot about this horse.”
Jockey William Buick, second with Valiant Force – “He broke well, but the pace was super hot. I don’t know the horse well, but they told me he had been training really, really well. I think the connections are really happy with that.”
Trainer Ralph Beckett, third with Starlust (GB) –“He ran a huge race. I thought everything went to plan. He was never going to be able to break fast enough, that’s just not him to sit up with the early pace. We got the breaks in the straight and weren’t good enough to finish second, but we were third, so it was all good.”
Trainer George Weaver, beaten favorite No Nay Mets, fourth – “He wasn’t good enough today. We wanted to be forward. All three of his wins, he was on the lead or close to it. It’s all fine if you want the lead, but you have to be fast enough to get there. They were smoking up there. I am not complaining about what happened today. I brought three very solid horses here and didn’t hit the board with any of them. It’s a disappointment, but we move on.”
Jockey Irad Ortiz, beaten favorite No Nay Mets, fourth – “He ran great. I thought I was the speed of the race but he didn’t mind sitting there. He listened to me and relaxed. When I asked him, he cut the corner, was in the clear and made a good run. Unfortunately we couldn’t get there.”
