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| Staff Writer |
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In the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, Christopher Head's French raider Big Rock put on a career-defining performance. He left his rivals trailing far behind as he ran with incredible speed and power.
Aurelien Lemaitre once again joined a colt sired by Rock Of Gibraltar and aged 3YO, and they finally managed to win at the highest level on their fourth attempt, with a bit of luck on their side.
Big Rock started off powerfully and was well ahead by the halfway point, leaving Hi Royal behind as he couldn't keep up with the pace and finished last out of 11.
Thanks to his bottomless tank, Big Rock was able to finish six lengths ahead of Facteur Cheval, another horse trained in France by Jerome Reynier and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, who managed to claim second place from Dermot Weld's Tahiyra, ridden by Chris Hayes, in the final stages of the race.
“That was tremendous! Big Rock always does this, it's crazy. What a horse, what a season. He does very well on that type of ground but that was quite impressive, very impressive, what a horse,” said Head.
“You're always a bit scared that the race is going to close in on you, but we've known him for the whole season and he's always been like this. It's very nice to see him winning this race because it was one of the best mile (races) in Europe. I'm very happy for the owner, he's the breeder. I'm very happy, this is such a nice place to win.”