Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes
Group 2, Newmarket 14:25
£100,000 guaranteed,
2yo only,
6f, Class 1   
Thursday 11th July 2025

1 Zavateri 18/1
2 Do Or Do Not 8/1
3 Jel Pepper 11/2
6 ran Distances: 1l, 1½l, hd
Time: 1m 10.80s (slow by 0.60s)

Eve Johnson Houghton was all smiles and spark after Zavateri, the least fancied of the six runners on paper, turned the formbook on its head to remain unbeaten.

Sent off a 18-1 outsider, he was anything but unfancied in his trainer’s eyes — and under a patient ride from Charlie Bishop, the son of Showcasing showed maturity well beyond his years to land a memorable success.

The early fractions were frenetic, with Comical Point going off like a scalded cat and Ryan Moore happy to latch onto the pace aboard Brussels. But while the others came under pressure one by one — not least the 6-4 favourite Maximized, who threatened briefly before fading — Zavateri was always travelling with intent.

When Bishop asked the question, the response was immediate. He quickened smartly away, with only Do Or Do Not — last seen finishing second in the Coventry at Ascot — giving chase, albeit a length adrift at the line and still searching for that elusive first win.

There was no doubting the delight from Johnson Houghton in the aftermath: “I knew he was good — I just didn’t know if he was this good after only one run. He’s so inexperienced. In the paddock he looked like he was off to a festival, but in the race he’s all business. I thought, ‘Oh God, he’s going to win this’, and from then I never really doubted it.”

Stepping up from a debut win at Salisbury to this level was a bold move, and the trainer was happy to admit as much.

“The form of that race hasn’t worked out at all,” she laughed, “but he did what he had to do. I did wonder if I was being a bit ballsy coming here — but what’s the alternative? Go back to a novice and maybe end up giving weight to a Group horse? No thanks. Better to come here and find out what you’ve really got.”

What she’s got, it seems, is a colt of real potential — both in temperament and in talent.

“He’s got such a good attitude, he just wants to please you,” she said.

“He’s a dream to train — and I imagine a pretty nice ride too.”

Bookmakers reacted with caution rather than hysteria, installing Zavateri at 33-1 for next year’s 2000 Guineas. On the question of whether a mile might be within his compass, Johnson Houghton offered one of the quotes of the season:

“He’s bred to stay, but as I always tell my owners — you’ve never heard of Usain Bolt’s brother, have you? Breeding is one thing. What they actually do is another. But he definitely wants seven furlongs, that much I’m sure of.”

Goodwood’s Vintage Stakes and the Dewhurst are both on the radar before the season’s end — and Zavateri now joins Havana Hurricane, the Windsor Castle winner at Royal Ascot, as Johnson Houghton’s second major juvenile star of the summer.

“Havana Hurricane’s a proper sprinter — this lad wants further. They don’t work together,” she smiled. “And to be honest, I haven’t got enough horses to be wasting them knocking lumps out of each other at home!”

From Salisbury novice to July Stakes hero in two runs — Zavateri has quickly gone from unknown to one to follow.

Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes (Group 2)
£100,000 guaranteed, 2yo only, 6f, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Good to Firm

POS. (DRAW) FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (4)    Zavateri 2 9-2 Eve Johnson Houghton Charles Bishop 18/1
2 (2) 1 Do Or Do Not 2 9-2 Ed Walker Tom Marquand 8/1
3 (6) 1½ Jel Pepper 2 9-2 Paul & Oliver Cole Hector Crouch 11/2
4 (1) hd Brussels 2 9-2 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 9/4
5 (5) 1¼ Maximized 2 9-2 Charlie Appleby William Buick 6/4F
6 (3) 12 Comical Point 2 9-2 Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy 12/1

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