Eve Johnson Houghton was thrilled to see her stable star Zavateri stamp his class on the Virgin Bet Celebration Mile at Goodwood.
A Group One-winning juvenile in last season’s National Stakes, the Without Parole colt had endured a frustrating three-year-old campaign so far, with an early-season setback ruling him out of a potential Classic bid.
He performed creditably to finish fifth in both Goodwood’s Sussex Stakes last month and the City of York Stakes on the Knavesmire just last week, and he was the 11-10 favourite to strike Group Two gold seven days later.
After being settled in midfield by Charlie Bishop, Zavateri quickened up smartly in the rain-softened ground to claim the lead with a furlong still to run and the further he went the better he looked, eventually passing the post with three-and-a-half lengths in hand over Qirat.
“On hearing the ground was heavy I said to Charlie ‘are we going to run’ and he said, ‘let’s see’. I said if he goes on the ground he would win and he did,” said Johnson Houghton.
“He is from very small beginnings but has developed into a machine, and he showed the turn of foot I knew he had.”
Zavateri is set for an immediate jump to the highest level, with the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot (October 17) uppermost in his trainer’s mind.
She added: “Now he will go the the QEII, end of conversation. We need to go back to Group One company at Ascot I’m really keen to do that.
“We (father Fulke Johnson Houghton) won it twice with Rose Bowl a long time ago (1975 and 1976) and it’s the right race for this horse.”
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