He might have been 18/1, but Zavateri runs out a deserving winner of the Group 2 Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes as the 35,000gns bargain buy remains unbeaten for trainer Eve Johnson Houghton, jockey Charlie Bishop and owners Mick and Janice Mariscotti.
An easy winner at Salisbury on debut, the Without Parole colt was one of the outsiders in this prestigious two-year-old race, with exciting prospects Brussels from the Aidan O'Brien yard and Maximized from the Charlie Appleby stable expected to battle it out at the finish.
But it was Zavateri who swept through at the furlong marker - despite having an unfavourable wide position - to underline his own talent, with Johnson Houghton looking at the Dewhurst Stakes in the autumn for a horse that is bred to get a mile as a three-year-old.
Johnson Houghton said: “I knew he was a good horse, I wasn’t sure if he was good enough to win after only one run because he’s obviously very inexperienced.
“In the paddock he was like, ‘oh, it’s party time!’. But in the race he’s so professional. I thought, ‘Oh god he’s going to win this’, and I never had a moment’s doubt really.”
Zavateri faced a significant rise in class after winning on his Salisbury debut, but his trainer was more than hopeful he would hold his own in the Group Two affair.
“The form of his first race hasn’t worked out at all, but he could only beat what he beat and he’s done it again,” she added.
“I wondered whether I was being a bit ballsy, but quite frankly you either come here and take on Group horses or you go to a novice where you might have to give weight to a Group horse and I thought we might as well come here and see what we’ve got.
“I love this horse – he’s got a great attitude and just wants to please. He’s a dream to train and I think he’s pretty nice to ride as well.”
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