Goodwood Saturday
ZAVATERI (Eve Johnson Houghton/Charles Bishop) made light of rain-softened ground, a quick turnaround and even the loss of an off-fore shoe on the way to the start when landing the Group 2 Virgin Bet Celebration Mile at Goodwood.
Sent off the well-backed 11/10 favourite, the three-year-old was settled towards the rear of midfield as Qirat took them along, while Bishop waited for the gaps to appear on the market leader, who was turned out quickly after running in the City of York Stakes just seven days earlier.
Zavateri was briefly short of room inside the final quarter-mile before Bishop switched him right and asked him to lengthen.
The response was immediate, as he picked up Qirat approaching the furlong pole, briefly edged right under pressure, and then drew right away to score readily by three and a half lengths from Qirat (Ralph Beckett/Hector Crouch), with Fast Tracker (Ed Walker/Cieren Fallon) staying on from a slow start to take third, another two and a quarter lengths behind.
Significant rain had turned the ground soft, but that didn’t blunt Zavateri’s sharp turn of foot, a weapon he used to score at Group 1 level as a juvenile, and which clearly hasn’t deserted him as he gained a deserved first win of the campaign dropping from the highest level.
Johnson Houghton admitted afterwards that the ground had been a worry and confirmed the colt firmly on course for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, a race won by her late father Fulke with Rose Bowl in 1975 and 1976.
Sandown Saturday
LOVE Dynasty (Kevin Ryan/Neil Callan) caused a 33/1 upset in the BetMGM Atalanta Stakes, a Group 3 for fillies and mares over a mile.
The five-year-old was always well placed but had to be angled out for a run in the closing stages, finishing with real purpose to lead well inside the final furlong to beat Noche Clasica (Edward Bethell/Rab Havlin) by a neck, with Moon Target (Sir Mark Prescott/Luke Morris) another neck away in third, while favourite Kon Tiki could finish only ninth, with connections reporting that she was unsuited by the yielding ground.
Despite the SP of the winner, her trainer was not entertaining angels unawares. “It wasn’t a shock to me,” said Ryan. “The most important thing for her is the ground - she needs soft ground - that’s why she’s so lightly raced.”
Asked if she might take up an engagement in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket, he replied: “As long as the ground is suitable, she’ll probably go there next.”
ALFRED Wallace (Ed Walker/Kieran Shoemark) confirmed himself a tough and durable juvenile when taking the Group 3 BetMGM Solario Stakes 10 days after running in the Acomb Stakes won by Haffner. Prominent throughout, he struck the front two furlongs from home and he was always doing enough to hold Dover Street (Richard Hannon/Pat Dobbs) by half a length. Breacher (William Muir & Chris Grassick/Lewis Edmunds) was a further half-length back in third in a race weakened by the withdrawals of Sergei Diaghilev and morning favourite Rock Montreal.
Dude
“What a dude,” said an ecstatic Walker on welcoming his winner back to the winners’ enclosure. “He’s an absolute star to back up 10 days after York.
“I was really cross when I saw the entries for this as the plan was always to come straight here, but I got tempted by York and probably didn’t give Aidan’s horse the respect he deserved. I spent my week kicking myself for going, but what a tough little horse – he helped me out of trouble.
“You can’t see a rib on him - he’s been busy and never leaves an oat. He’s always fresh as paint at home and he’s got such a great appetite for it. A few non-runners probably helped us there but I see William Muir every morning and he thinks the world of his horse who was third.
“I think by the law of physics he will find life tougher next year when the more backward horses are coming out and that is why we are squeezing the lemon a little bit this year.
“We’ll definitely have a shot at a Group 1 with him; he’s in everything and I’ll just have to try not to run him in all of them!”
Goodwood Sunday
ALBANY Stakes third Light Of Dawn (Karl Burke/James Doyle) was the star on Goodwood’s Sunday card, taking the Group 3 Virgin Bet Prestige Fillies’ Stakes in determined fashion.
Waited with initially, she moved smoothly into the race before taking command more than a furlong from home and kept on well despite drifting left late.
Eabha (Eve Johnson Houghton/Charles Bishop) stayed on from the rear to take second, a length and a quarter behind the winner, with Coaxed (John & Thady Gosden/William Buick) half a length away in third.
Favourite Bayside View never threatened from the back, and Light Of Dawn’s success gave Wathnan Racing another notable prize on a weekend rich in juvenile clues. Doyle had been due to ride Diego Ventura in the Group 3 Prix Quincey at Deauville but was rerouted to Goodwood after his plane was grounded, so his gain was Clifford Lee’s loss.
Doyle told Racing TV: “I’m delighted to get on her and I was very pleased with her. It worked out better than I could have wished for. The outside stall was a bit of a concern, but after going a furlong I was very comfortable.
“We took her to Deauville for what we thought was quite a nice race for her but the ground was very quick that day so she didn’t enjoy that at all. We were keen to get her on a slower surface and this race seemed the obvious fit.”
Beverley Sunday
JM JUNGLE (John & Sean Quinn/Jason Hart) produced a typically determined display to win the Listed William Hill Beverley Bullet over the Westwood’s dogleg five furlongs. Sent off the 7/4 favourite on heavy ground, he pressed the pace, was ridden to lead approaching the final furlong, and ran on strongly to repel Argentine Tango (Tim Easterby/David Allan) by half a length; Badri (Michael Herrington/Connor Beasley) was a neck further back in third. The winner’s blend of speed, trackcraft and old-fashioned grit proved decisive, and Jason Hart’s positive ride ensured he was ideally placed to make it count.