Late in 2007, Jeff Schwietert started wondering where Florida-bred Big City Man had gone. The Northern Afleet colt he bred had just won two straight stakes at Calder Race Course and then disappeared.
“I was really upset. I thought he had died. I couldn’t find anything about him,” said Schwietert, the stallion manager at Bridlewood Farm.
Then almost a year and a half after he seemingly fell off the face of the earth, Big City Man reappeared in Dubai in the hands of Saudi Prince Sultan Mohd Saud Al Kabeer.
“I was just so glad we hadn’t lost him. He was always a really good horse. I still don’t know what really happened to him,” Schwietert said.
On Saturday, Big City Man showed he was all the way back as he ran down and beat Indian Blessing in the six-furlong Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) during World Cup Day in the United Arab Emirates.
“I was tickled to death. I was doing so much hollering that I didn’t hear the call. I had to watch the replay again to make sure he had won,” Schwietert said.
The race’s outcome was the same, but depending on the angle of the replay, the race seemed to shake out differently.
The live pan shot of the straightaway race seemed to show Big City Man in the lead, with Indian Blessing coming on strong but not able to catch the 4-year-old. The overhead shot, however, told the real story. Indian Blessing was in the lead, and Big City Man had to put in a burst of his own to catch and pass the filly.
“I thought it was a battle for the lead the whole way. Then I saw the overhead shot, and it looked like Big City Man was like five lengths behind her. That was even more impressive,” Schwietert said.
Big City Man held on for a 1 ¼-length victory and the lion’s share of the $2 million purse.
“The jockey did a terrific job. He gave him a couple of whacks at the right time, and he exploded. It was very impressive. It’s hard not to be excited,” Schwietert said.
Schwietert bred the horse, who is out of the Valid Appeal mare Mini Appeal, while he was at Four Horsemen’s Ranch and sold him privately as a yearling.
“I was confidently hopeful. I hit the exacta with him and bet him to win. Since he came back and started winning again, I started reading everything I could find about him. I knew he was cut out to be a top horse. The horses he’d beat up on at Calder are doing great now,” he said.
Some of those horses include Smooth Air, Wise Answer and HoneyHoneyHoney.
Big City Man paid $13.80 for the win Saturday, and the exacta paid $34.20.
“Indian Blessing ran her eyeballs out,” Schwietert said. “That’s the first time she’s ever been beaten while sprinting on the dirt. She was in her element. He just ran her down and went by. It’s exciting. I hope he comes over to race here. You can only hope. He could run in the Smile Sprint Handicap at Calder and then maybe in the Breeders’ Cup. For the sport’s sake, I would like to see that happen.”
