Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes |
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| Group 1, Goodwood 15:35 £1,000,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1 |
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Zavateri could yet make his mark at the top level later this season, with the Sussex Stakes emerging as a potential target following a minor setback that ruled him out of the 2000 Guineas.
The Eve Johnson Houghton-trained colt had established himself as one of last season’s leading juveniles and was well fancied for Classic honours after finishing second in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury.
However, that momentum was interrupted, allowing Bow Echo to dominate the Newmarket Classic in his absence, and connections have since adopted a patient approach to his recovery.
Johnson Houghton said: “I think Bow Echo was unbelievably impressive and congratulations to everyone involved with him.
“He’s fine, he’s grand, he’ll be back on the track in about a month or six weeks, there’s very little wrong with him, he just needs time.
“I didn’t enter him in the St James’s Palace Stakes because I didn’t want to be tempted, when you’ve got a really good one you have to look after them so we’re not going to push.
“He will probably come back over a mile but there are some lovely seven furlong races around – but I think we’ll probably aim for the Sussex or the City of York. He has won at Goodwood so why would we not go back there.”
With a careful programme now in place, Zavateri’s campaign is set to build gradually, with late-summer targets offering the opportunity to recapture the promise that once placed him among the leading contenders of his generation.
Sussex Stakes 2025 (British Champions Series)
£1,000,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good
POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (2) Qirat 4 9-10 Ralph Beckett Richard Kingscote 150/1
2 (5) nk Rosallion 4 9-10 Richard Hannon Sean Levey 11/2
3 (1) 2¼ Henri Matisse 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 11/2
4 (3) 1¼ Field Of Gold 3 9-2 John & Thady Gosden William Buick 1/3F
5 (6) 1 Docklands t 5 9-10 Harry Eustace Tom Marquand 33/1
6 (7) 1 Carl Spackler 5 9-10 Ciaron Maher Shane Foley 28/1
7 (4) hd Serengeti 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan 300/1
