So Big Is Better triumphs

Los Alamitos - The 4-year-old Paddys Day dominated the Triple Jewel competition with a second place finish to Burning Fleet in Houston on March 7, a win in Pleasanton in the second leg and rounded the three-leg series with Saturday's second place finish.

The Los Alamitos Racecourse prides itself as a venue where America's top aged horses continue to shine and on Saturday it was So Big Is Better that justified that tag when as a 11-year-old he pipped odds-on favourite Paddys Day to win the Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Diamond Jewel Grade Two contest over a mile.
While Mark Powell, owner and trainer of So Big Is Better celebrated his win, his boether Scott Powell, though disappointed with the loss of Paddys Day, entered history books as the first winner of the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival's newly-introduced Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Cup series' Triple Jewel competition.
The 4-year-old Paddys Day dominated the Triple Jewel competition with a second place finish to Burning Fleet in Houston on March 7, a win in Pleasanton in the second leg and rounded the three-leg series with Saturday's second place finish.
While So Big Is Better got a major slice of the $47,800 on offer for the Grade Two contest, Paddys Day earned a bonus of $150,000 for winning the series and it is likely that the two horses could make the trip to the UAE for the world's richest Purebred Arabian race - the Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival's Euros 1.2 million Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Jewel Crown (Group 1) on November 8, 2015.
Kelsi Purcell on Paddys Day looked headed for the star's 10th win in 12 starts but So Big Is Better under Robert Paz came up with a blazing run and collared the leader in the final furlong to score a second big win in a week.
The Burning Sands' son had won a Grade One race in Delaware a week ago and Mark was elated with the second innings of his ageing star.
"He was demolished in the first two legs of the Triple Jewel but I did not get perturbed as he was coming after a year's gap. But his win last week in a Grade A Stakes in Delaware forced me to air-lift him here for the big race and he proved his class with a third win in a row this year," Mark said.
"He is a great horse and I have five yearlings from him and another five seven-month old foals so I am delighted all the more with this success after his stud duties," he remarked.
"I hope he makes it to the big race in Abu Dhabi and it will be a great re-match between him and Paddys Day which is the best American Arabian at the moment, it was great to beat him though," Mark said.