Mick Appleby © Photo Healy Racing
A return to the Breeders’ Cup is likely to be top of the agenda for Big Evs after connections were left feeling their star sprinter was “a bit too quick” for the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.
A surprise winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes over the course and distance 12 months ago, Mick Appleby’s pride and joy went on to claim Breeders’ Cup glory in the Juvenile Sprint and made a triumphant start to his three-year-old campaign in last month’s Westow Stakes at York.
The Blue Point colt was the 11-4 favourite to make a successful return to Group One level in Berkshire, but after blazing a trail for much of the way, his effort petered out close home and he passed the post third behind Australian challenger Asfoora and the Yorkshire-based Regional.
Appleby was rightly pleased with the performance in defeat and will now look to campaign his stable star on more speed favouring tracks, like Del Mar in November.
“He’s run very well, he showed a lot of speed early on and the stiff finish just caught up with him in the last 100 yards,” said the trainer.
“He’s taking on the older horses, the best sprinters in the world, and he’s held his own against them. He’s only going to improve on that as he gets older, I’m very pleased with the run.
“He’s rapid and he’s better on a quicker five, it’s a bit stiff here so we’ll possibly go back to Goodwood with him then hopefully we’ll go back to the Breeders’ Cup.”
Jockey Tom Marquand said: “He’s run a belter, he’s just incredibly quick and you just wonder whether when an Ascot five furlongs, now he’s a year older and feels even quicker and more purposeful, whether it gets him out on his legs late.
“He’s run a screamer and carried his Group One form from two to three, after York there wasn’t much doubt in my mind that he would be able to.
“Mick and the team have done a great job getting him here today in prime order and there’s definitely more big days in him, but he might just be a bit too quick for a stiff track like this.”
Ed Bethell was similarly proud of the performance of Regional, who could now step back up in trip for the July Cup at Newmarket.
He said: “Fair play to the Australians, they won fair and square. They got their horse in great nick here today, so fair play.
“(I have) mixed emotions. Possibly should we be going up to six furlongs? We will go up to six, because we are hitting the line good.
“It’s just horseracing, isn’t it? We did all the donkey work, it was tremendous really and I’m delighted for the horse and delighted for Callum (Rodriguez) and delighted for these guys who have put their money into it – it’s great to have syndicates like this.
“Another half a furlong and we might have got there! That’s horseracing. We can be nothing but proud of our horse.
“He’s run a big race today, he had a good blow, so I would imagine we will try and aim towards something like the July Cup now. After that, I don’t know where we will go.”
