No Fuss (NZ) (Jon Snow) has delivered his ownership group an emotional victory at Flemington on Anzac Day, as the son of Jon Snow extended his unbeaten run in Australia under John Allen.
The exciting four-year-old settled a touch closer than expected over the 1800-metre journey, but always travelled comfortably at a slow pace.
Several horses loomed up to challenge at the top of the straight, but Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s galloper kept finding and held off the impressive Hoops ($51) to make it four wins on the spin, and his fourth success from five career starts.
It was a gutsy win and one that meant a lot to all involved, with No Fuss’s part-owner Geoff Tucker passing away during the week.
“I just want to shout out to Geoff Tucker’s family – Geoff was a great racing man, and a great supporter of my stable,” Tony McEvoy said.
“Geoff had 20 percent of this horse and sadly lost his battle this week. He’s been getting great joy out of this horse, and the horse is continuing on for him.”
An impressive maiden winner on Australian debut at Ballarat, No Fuss bombed the start first-up at Sandown but was still able to reel in his rivals late.
He sat third, but much further from the front, at his next start, and as such, Saturday’s win left McEvoy very impressed with No Fuss’s versatility.
“We’re still learning about him… I didn’t see him sitting outside the lead,” McEvoy said.
“So, he’s really versatile, this horse. When he gets his craft together, he’s going to take us a long way, I think.
“I’ve been doing this here at Flemington for a long time, and when you’re in front that far out, with 61.5kg on your back, he’s done a tremendous job.”
At this stage, the team will look to continue No Fuss’s rise through the ratings, with a similar contest in a few weeks the likely target at this stage.
“He’s still a horse that’s developing… in three weeks’ time there’s another 1800m here at Flemington,” McEvoy said.
“I’ll talk to Terry (Henderson, of OTI) and his team, but if the horse is happy, that would be a lovely target.”