Sr. Quisqueyano facing tall task in Big Cap

ARCADIA, Calif. – Sr. Quisqueyano did not look like a $62,500 claimer when trainer Peter Walder claimed him at Gulfstream Park in December.

“He had won more than $500,000, and you don’t get that by accident,” Walder recalled Wednesday. “He’s not your average $60,000 horse.”

Sr. Quisqueyano gave Loooch Racing Stable a fast dividend with a win in the $250,000 Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 17. The next goal is to make the 5-year-old a millionaire with an upset win in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.

Walder is eager to try Sr. Quisqueyano at the Big Cap distance of 1 1/4 miles, knowing that the cross-country trip will be a tough assignment. The Big Cap is expected to be led by Shared Belief, the champion 2-year-old male of 2013 and a convincing winner of the $590,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7 over California Chrome, the 2014 Horse of the Year.

“If Shared Belief shows up, you’re more than likely not going to beat him,” Walder said. “If you only have one horse to beat, you can take a shot at it.”

Walder said he considered running Sr. Quisqueyano in the $300,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap at a mile March 7 but said the purse of the Big Cap has greater appeal.

“If we run second at Santa Anita, we’d get $200,000,” he said. “I think he is very good. I think the pace should be good for him.”

Sr. Quisqueyano has won 8 of 29 starts and earned $713,560. He has won five stakes, including the $250,000 Calder Derby in 2013. By the Elusive Quality stallion Executive Quality, Sr. Quisqueyano has never raced outside of south Florida. The Big Cap will be his first start in a Grade 1.

The Big Cap has seven probable starters. They include Hoppertunity, Bronzo, and Imperative, who were third, fourth and sixth in the San Antonio; Catch a Flight, the winner of an optional claimer Feb. 13; and Cool Samurai, who was second in an optional claimer Feb. 6.