Mister Big fits his name

One of the most appropriately named contenders in the $610,000 Three-Year-Old Breeders Crown Pace at Woodbine on Saturday is elimination winner Mister Big. The striking son of Grinfromeartoear is both tall in stature and long of girth, giving him a smooth, nearly effortless stride. The bottom line is that this colt stands out on the racetrack.

“He’s a great individual, confirmation wise,” trainer Tim Pinske, 59, noted. “That’s one of the things I liked about him as a yearling, besides his pedigree. He was a very correct baby, and just a very big horse early on.”

Pinske paid $55,000 for Mister Big as a yearling and owns the colt in partnership with Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Tom Crouch of Kentucky.

“This colt was perfect from day one,” Pinske recalled. “He was absolutely no problem to break or train down, was always a good eater and just a really nice horse to be around.”

Mister Big was lightly raced as a 2 year old, starting just 10 times, but returning $125,440 to his connections for his efforts, which saw him score a 1:53 mile in early August of 2005 over Mohawk’s oval.

“We spaced his races out last season because he was just a big, growthy colt,” Pinske said. “He was maturing constantly, besides being very big to begin with. We’ve kind of picked our spots with him this year as well.”

The long-striding Mister Big got up in the final yards to nail down his Breeders Crown elimination in 1:49.2 with driver Jody Jamieson in the sulky for the first time.

“He’s been very sharp for some time now,” Pinske added. “Though it isn’t really apparent because he finished fifth in his Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final prior to his Breeders Crown elim. However, in that Super Final, he paced in 1:52 and was only beaten for the win by a length and a quarter. That’s the reason we put him in the Breeders Crown elim, because he’s so sharp and fit right now.

“I was confident that he’d make the final, but if I knew he was going to win it, I think I’d have a lot more money in my pocket now as he paid upwards of $80 to win.” Pinske laughed. “Since we got to pick our posts for the final, we were happy to take the three hole. I like that Dave Panlone is just to our inside (post two), as I think he’s a great horse to follow. It’s going to be a tough race.”

Pinske’s training regime with the big colt this past week was simple—a few days off after his winning elim, then light jogging throughout the week except for a double jogging session on Thursday.

“We just keep things simple with him. He doesn’t wear a boot or any fancy shoeing,” Pinske noted. “He wears a very long hobble, plain driving bits, cups with holes punched in them and an inside head pole.”

Mister Big is the third foal out of the Jate Lobell mare World’s Sweetheart, and is a half-brother to the 10 race-winning colt Worlds Apart (by Life Sign) p,3, 1:52.2f ($152,807). His sire Grinfromeartoear upset Blissfull Hall in their Crown event in 1999. (BC)

« Back