Bigdaddykool removed all doubts about his well-being, as after a long layup due to injury setbacks, he again demonstrated his capabilities to win the $1.15 million Nigel B Nunes Memorial Cup feature over nine furlongs and 25 yards (1,820m) on Monday.
Although it was against Open Allowance company, the demonstration from Bigdaddykool was breath-taking as his acceleration at the furlong and a half (300m) was electrifying as he motored away to beat Marquesas (Shane Ellis) and Donate (Tevin Foster) by six and a half lengths.
Further confirmation about his form and readiness was evidenced in his final time of 1:53.0 with splits of 26.0, 49.4, 1:14.2 and 1:39.2. The final time was just outside of the Stakes record of 1:52.1 done by Long Running Train in 2016.
The clash now with Will In Charge and She’s A Maneater is worth looking forward to and Nunes said that once his charge, who is battling with hoof issues, is healthy and fit, he will be ready for the Superstakes.
“Well, Bigdaddykool has a hoof issues that he has been battling with for two years and it just got a little worse and we just kept working and it worked out. The track is on the fast side but 1:53.0 is 1:53.0 and he was running away from those horses in the end. Let’s hope that hoof is alright then he will be ready to go for the Superstakes,” Nunes said.
While the victory was expected, Nunes said that he was surprised by the manner.
“It surprised me that he won that easily. We really didn’t get a lot of time to prepare but we knew the Superstakes was three weeks away and we needed to get a run in.
“This spot came up and we decided to run after Sunday when he had galloped. He worked really well but I still didn’t think that he was fit enough but we had to go and it shows you that he is all racehorse and he just has the heart of a champion,” Nunes said.
