Eve Johnson Houghton is confident that Zavateri can return to the level of form he produced last season after a minor setback.
The Without Parole colt hasn’t been seen since his second to Alparslan in the Greenham Stakes. That promising return had initially set him up for a tilt toward the 2000 Guineas. Her stable star was a revelation last season, with form figures of 11114.
Zavateri’s best performance came in the Group 1 National Stakes, beating the subsequent Irish 2000 Guineas winner Gstaad.
Speaking to the Press Association, via Racing TV, Eve Johnson Houghton said: “It was a very minor setback, but he’s back cantering and he’s fine. The plan is to go straight for the Sussex Stakes. I am as confident as I can be that he will come back just as good. He seems in great form, is moving great and is very happy.
Despite missing the first half of the season, should he return to the level of last year, he could still rank highly among the colts. Houghton continued, stating: “We haven’t done any fast work with him, but I would say he is not a hard horse to get fit. So I am confident that he is going to come back bouncing.”
“We are creatures of habit” – Flying Pirate emulates stablemate
Zavateri first burst on to the scene at Salisbury last June. Despite looking unfurnished, he took his maiden with a considerable amount of promise. The yard took the same contest three weeks ago with Flying Pirate. The Blackbeard colt ran to a RPR of 8lbs higher, beating one allotted a mark of 85. Rather than jumping up to group company, Flying Pirate races under a penalty back at Salisbury on Tuesday.
Of his stablemate, Houghton said: “We are creatures of habit aren’t we, but Flying Pirate really is a lovely colt, really nice. He is a bit more raw than Zavateri. That one was more switched on than him – but we are holding high hopes.
“Whether he’s as good as him, I don’t know, but we hope so. We think he is a nice horse and we think he learnt on the job there first time.”
The Sussex Stakes takes place next month, and Zavateri was a winner at last years’ meeting in the Vintage Stakes. Last year’s Sussex Stakes conjured up a shock performance as Qirat returned at 150/1. Qirat returned to the winners enclosure last weekend, again overturning a strong favourite in Never So Brave.