Johnson Houghton retaining plenty of options for Zavateri
He was the overlooked horse in the field at 18-1 under Charles Bishop, but thoroughly undermined those odds when prevailing by a length to score at Group Two level on only his second start.
'I was absolutely thrilled with him, I knew he was a good horse but I just thought he might not know enough – I thought he might be a bit green, but it didn't appear that way at all,' said Johnson Houghton.
'He's come out of his race really well, I'm very happy with him.'
The chestnut has a range of possible next steps and is clearly held in high regard for both his ability and his genuine attitude.
'We're just having discussions at the moment, nothing is concrete and all options are open,' Johnson Houghton added.
'We've not ruled out anything at all, we might go to the Curragh for the Phoenix, we might go to Goodwood for the Vintage, we might go to York, we might just wait a little bit longer.
'He's got a great attitude and he always has done at home, he's a pleasure to train.
'Every time he puts his head in the bridle, he just wants to please.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Diamondbacks not acting like sellers, face injury-riddled Astros
July 21 - The Arizona Diamondbacks look to build on a strong run while the Houston Astros hope to get back on track when the teams meet in a three-game series beginning Monday in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks opened play after the All-Star break with a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, outscoring them by a combined 16-1 in the first three innings of each outing and 22-7 overall. The American League West-leading Astros lost two out of three at top division contender Seattle. While Houston salvaged the final game with an 11-3 win Sunday to stay sweep-less in Seattle, the Astros lost another top run producer when All-Star third baseman Isaac Paredes (right hamstring strain) was placed on the injured list. Arizona third baseman Eugenio Suarez, meanwhile, stepped up in the St. Louis series. Suarez slugged two homers in each of the last two games of the series, giving him an National League-high 35 homers and a major league-best 85 RBIs. "We all knew how important this series was," said Arizona manager Torey Lovullo, whose team entered the second half more likely to sell than buy at the July 31 trade deadline. "They want to put this team back in the middle of the race, and we did that." The Diamondbacks gained three games on the Cardinals in the NL wild-card race but remain 4 1/2 games behind San Diego for the final spot with the deadline approaching. Arizona right-hander Zac Gallen (7-10, 5.40 ERA) will oppose rookie left-hander Colton Gordon (3-2, 4.67) in the first game of the series on Monday. Paredes leads the Astros with 19 homers, and his loss is another blow to a lineup that has been without middle-of-the-order bat Yordan Alvarez (broken hand) since May 2 and shortstop and leadoff hitter Jeremy Pena (broken rib) since June 27. Pena leads Houston with a .322 batting average, .378 on-base percentage and .489 slugging percentage. Paredes suffered a strained right hamstring in a 7-6, 11-inning loss Saturday, after pulling up on his way to first after a third-inning single. "That guy is definitely an anchor in our lineup," said Astros first baseman Christian Walker, who homered Sunday. "He's tough. That's super unfortunate, but that being said, we've got to find a way to win anyway." Walker will return to Arizona for the first time since signing a three-year, $60 million deal as a free agent last winter. He had 146 homers and was a three-time Gold Glove winner in six seasons with the Diamondbacks. "It's next-man-up mentality," said outfielder Taylor Trammell, who had three hits including a homer and three RBIs on Sunday. "We're locked in. The boys are rolling. We are ready to do our jobs." Gallen made two of his best starts of the season in early July, giving up a combined three runs (one earned) with 19 strikeouts in 13 innings in victories over San Francisco and San Diego. However, he gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in a 10-5 loss to the host Los Angeles Angels on July 12. "We'll see what happens," Gallen said of the trade rumors. "I'm just trying to execute pitches for the D-backs at this point in time. If it happens, it happens, but, hopefully, we play a little bit better baseball and that's not the case in the next two and a half weeks." Gordon will make his first start since July 7 after pitching one inning in relief on July 13, the day before the All-Star break. He has one quality start among his 10 starts. After going 3-0 with a 2.14 ERA in four June starts, including five shutout innings in a win over Philadelphia, Gordon gave up nine runs in 10 1/3 innings in his two July starts, at Colorado and home against Cleveland. --Field Level Media
Reuters
15 hours ago
- Reuters
Eugenio Suarez goez deep twice again as D-backs sweep Cardinals
July 20 - Eugenio Suarez had his second consecutive two-homer game, Merrill Kelly pitched six strong innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks completed a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a 5-3 victory in Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Suarez hit a three-run homer as part of a four-run first inning and added a solo home run in the third to increase his NL-leading total to 35, one more than the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani. Suarez, who leads the majors with 85 RBIs, has three two-homer outings over the last six games and six this season. He became the 19th player in major league history with a four-homer game against Atlanta on April 26. Since June 1, Suarez's 20 homers are the most in the majors. Kelly (9-5) gave up three hits and two runs in six innings, striking out five and walking four in the Diamondbacks' fourth straight win. Anthony DeSclafani gave up a ninth-inning run in a three-inning save. Corbin Carroll had two hits including his MLB-leading 13th triple in a four-run first for the Diamondbacks, who outscored the Cardinals 16-1 in the first three innings of the three games. Ivan Herrera had an RBI single and Jordan Walker added an RBI-double with two outs in the ninth for the Cardinals, who have lost 11 of 15. Miles Mikolas (5-7) gave up five runs on four hits, including both Suarez homers, in four innings with three strikeouts and two walks. He has given up eight homers in his last three starts. The Diamondbacks started early for the third time in the series. Carroll tripled to open the first and scored on Geraldo Perdomo's one-out fielder's choice grounder, when second baseman Brendan Donovan threw late to the plate. After Josh Naylor walked, Suarez hit a 425-foot homer to left. Scott doubled and scored on Herrera's single in the third to make it 4-1 before Suarez homered off the top of the left-field fence with two outs in the home half of the inning. Kelly walked the first three in the fifth, but he got out of the inning with two groundouts and a strikeout as the Cardinals managed only one run to cut the deficit to 5-2. --Field Level Media
Leader Live
20 hours ago
- Leader Live
One Look is all it takes for Twomey filly to star at the Curragh
The four-year-old burst onto the scene here at the Curragh in a valuable event as a two-year-old and has been one of Paddy Twomey's top performers ever since. She began this season in great form, winning the Park Express Stakes at this track before returning to give Porta Fortuna a fright in the Lanwades Stud Stakes, but was disappointing when last seen in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot. She's a star ⭐️ ONE LOOK returns to the @curraghrace winners' enclosure 🥇 — Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 20, 2025 Sent off at 100-30 for her first try at 10 furlongs, she relished the return to her beloved Curragh and served a reminder of her class in the hands of Wayne Lordan to deliver a decisive length success over Dermot Weld's Azada. Twomey said: 'It was great to come here and win again at the Curragh. She seems to like the Curragh and is a lovely filly. 'Ascot didn't work out for her, probably on ground quicker than she'd like and a trip as short as she'd want to go. 'She ran over nine and a half furlongs at Gowran last year and we felt on pedigree that stepping up in trip would suit her. She was brave today, she didn't have the easiest passage through but won nicely. 'She's won a Group Three with a penalty, so we're going to have to look at better races. 'She's in the Nassau, she could run here in the Blandford Stakes on Champions Weekend and races on Arc weekend. We'll have a think and pick our spots, but she's a four-year-old now and will probably run more than she has in the past.' Sir Mark Prescott's Tasmania, the 5-2 favourite, had to settle for a running-on third.
