Big Pond flips the script on Daddysruby in Spring Fever

ARCADIA, Calif. – A nose loss by Big Pond in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 gave the legendary jockey Frankie Dettori a chance to know the filly.

Dettori rode Big Pond for the second time in Sunday’s $100,500 Spring Fever Stakes for California-bred fillies and mares, and used the recent experience to guide the 4-year-old filly to her second career stakes win.

Sent off favored, Big Pond ($4) stalked pacesetter Daddysruby, winner of the La Brea, before taking the lead in early stretch. Big Pond pulled away from five rivals to win by a comfortable three lengths, finishing six furlongs in 1:09.28. Big Pond earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 94.

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Knowing the fight that Daddysruby had shown in the La Brea, Dettori opted to keep Big Pond closer to her rival on Sunday.

“I was at the tail end of her and I thought, I’m not going to let her get away with it,” Dettori said. “I put pressure on Daddysruby all the way. I asked my filly at the quarter-pole and she put up a good fight and won well.”

Scary Fast Ride (9-1) closed from fourth to finish second, two lengths in front of 8-5 Daddysruby, who set a solid early pace of 22.71 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.38 for a half-mile.

Rose Maddox, All Dialed In, and Rose Dawson completed the order of finish.

Big Pond was Dettori’s third win on the nine-race program, and his second three-win day of the year at Santa Anita.

Big Pond, who races for owner and breeder George Krikorian and trainer Tim Yakteen, won for the third time in her sixth start in the Spring Fever. Last summer, Big Pond won the Fleet Treat Stakes for statebred 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs at Del Mar in her stakes debut.

The win on Sunday ended an otherwise sad day for Krikorian. Big Switch, a 4-year-old filly he bred and a stakes winner against California-breds in 2021 and 2022, sustained a fatal sesamoid injury during training at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Krikorian said his confidence in Big Pond’s chances soared when he saw how close the filly was to Daddysruby midway through the Spring Fever.

“When she came around the turn, I thought she had a good chance because she was so comfortable in her stride,” Krikorian said. “She ran very professionally.”

Big Pond has earned $273,230 in her career.

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