Some 874 days and 22 starts after Tommy Berry guided Big Memory (FR) to victory in the Group II Herbert Power at Caulfield in October 2014, the six-year-old son of Duke Of Marmalade (IRE) found his way back to the winners stall in Saturday's $120,000 Listed Roy Higgins Quality (2600m) at Flemington.
Completing a wonderful hour for trainer Tony McEvoy and Luke Currie after they combined to win the Group I Australian Guineas with Hey Doc, Big Memory (FR) courageously fought off the challenge Cadillac Mountain (Reset) by a half head with Settler's Stone (Savoire Vivre ) a further three-quarters of a length away in third. (photo Grant Courtney).
"I'm just so happy for the horse, he's such a good horse, very sound very honest," McEvoy said.
"He has run 12 seconds, beaten by narrow margins. It's been so frustrating I feel sorry for the
"It looked like he was going to run another second and he just dug in a little deeper for us and I'm so happy for him.
"We will look to the Mornington Cup now, he was beaten a nose last year.
"If you look at the figures I think he has won $490,000 since his last win. So that says he has been running at a very good level without winning but that was a tremendous tonic for him today."
A winner at Fontainebleau when trained in France, Big Memory advances his record to 5 wins, 12 seconds and 4 thirds from 38 starts with earnings of $906,120.
A French-bred son of the former Coolmore shuttler Duke Of Marmalade, Big Memory is the best of six winners out of the German stakes winner Nicar (