All eyes on York for round three of Big Evs and Asfoora
‘We’ve lost the battle, but we might win the war later on’.
Henry Dwyer is relishing a York rubber match after his Royal Ascot heroine Asfoora went down valiantly to Big Evs in a pulsating renewal of the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood. The Australian raider got the better of Mick Appleby’s Breeders’ Cup champion at Royal Ascot in the King Charles III Stakes, but with Big Evs getting first run on the lighting-fast Goodwood sprint surface the six-year-old was unable to reel in her rival, going down by a short head. With both Big Evs and Asfoora on course for another showdown in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes later this month, the Ballarat-based trainer is looking forward to settling the rivalry on the Knavesmire.That’s got to be the race of the week 🤩
Big Evs just holds off Asfoora to take the King George Qatar Stakes 🏆#ITVRacing | @Goodwood_Races | @TomMarquand pic.twitter.com/ZAH4s9kUYh — ITV Racing (@itvracing) August 2, 2024
Dwyer said: “I’m incredibly proud. She’s done a great job. It’s frustrating to come here and run so well and not actually win, but incredibly pleased that she’s run as well as she has, knowing that she’s come through the two runs well and we’ve got a horse to forward with. “It went as well as we possibly could have hoped. We got a bump at the 300 (metre) pole which cost us, but it will be great to head for the Nunthorpe now. “I just think the Nunthorpe is going to be great, back to weight-for-age for her. We’ve lost the battle, but we might win the war later on. “It was always going to be problematic this race to start with, let alone getting an extra 2lb for winning at Ascot. I’m not making excuses, the other horse is a really good colt, and he’s got that ability to roll forward and control his own destiny, whereas we had to be back, we couldn’t go the early speed and that told late – we just got a bit of interference.”
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