Zavateri team full of hope heading into Dewhurst showdown

Zavateri is firing on all cylinders ahead of his bid to cap a fairytale season with success in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.

The chestnut colt has a flawless record of four runs and four wins, scoring a hat-trick of Group-race events when taking the July Stakes, the Vintage Stakes and then the top-level National Stakes at the Curragh.

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The latter run was a seriously tough performance against Aidan O’Brien’s highly-regarded Gstaad, who Zavateri will meet again on the undulating track at the Rowley Mile.

“He’s great, he’s been working really, really well and we’re going there full of hope,” Johnson Houghton said.

“He obviously hasn’t run at the track before, but he handled the July course and he handled Goodwood, so we’ve got every reason to believe that he’ll handle this.

“It will take a good horse to beat him, and if they’re better than him then so be it, but they will have to be very good.

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“He has been a dream this year, and to win this would really be the icing on the cake.”

Of Gstaad, who won the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, O’Brien said: “He’s very well and coming on nicely. His programme got a little messed up and we wanted to go to the Heinz (Phoenix Stakes) with him and he ended up going to Deauville for the Morny, which wasn’t perfect for him.

“Because of that he probably had a little harder race in France than we wanted going into the National Stakes, so it’s just the way it happened.

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“The plan was always to come here and the only one we missed was the Heinz when we went to Deauville instead.

“We think that might have affected him a bit at the Curragh and think he’s in a very good place again now. You never know until they race, but we’re very happy with him.”

O’Brien also runs National Stakes third Italy, saying: “Italy is very good, but is very immature mentally. His body is mature, but his mind is not and that is why he is racing really.

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“The only thing that is going to bring him on is racing and you can leave him at home and try to teach him, but on the track is where they learn and he will always be ridden to do his best.

“We think racing will improve him and he’s a big, powerful, long-striding horse with a lot of ability, but is just not pacing himself properly yet. He’ll hopefully get there.”

Charlie Appleby has won the race three times since 2019, most recently 12 months ago with Shadow Of Light.

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He runs Saba Desert and Pacific Avenue, but it is Distant Storm, so impressive in Group Three company last time out, who is his undoubted first string.

Appleby said: “Everything has gone very well since his last win and the only reason we were on the fence was this time last year we were running on soft ground.

“We’ve had a lovely spell of it just lately, so we’ll be running on genuinely good to firm ground and by going to the Tattersalls Stakes he’s gained track experience and ticked that box and we come here in good order.”

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He went on: “It was a no-brainer for William (Buick) as we’ve always liked Distant Storm and on the back of what he achieved on his last start he couldn’t get off him.

“Saba Desert, is he good enough to win? Well he’s got to step forward. I was expecting him to come on from the Superlative but you are just going to have to put a line through his run from Ireland and nothing came out in the wash at all – from halfway he was beat.

“We’ve popped cheekpieces on and he put in a smart piece of work in those in midweek. Is that good enough to win? Again probably no, but if the Saba Desert we saw in the Superlative and in midweek turns up, then he could be a player.”