Hurricane will have to show Defiance on Ladies’ Day
BEFORE we take aim at the Oaks in Thursday’s paper, there look to be a couple of others worth shouting about on Epsom’s Friday card.
The first I like is Eve Johnson Houghton’s HAVANA HURRICANE in the Woodcote Stakes (2.05pm), fairly priced at around 11/2.
This two-year-old colt was a taking winner on debut at Goodwood over five furlongs and the owners will have likely turned down big money to keep hold of him, and I can see why.
After a slow start from the stalls, the son of Havana Gold showed maturity to wait patiently in the wings before kicking for home inside the final furlong, quickly putting two lengths between himself and the well-backed favourite in second.
It’s hard to ignore the well-fancied Godolphin runner Maximized, but Johnson Houghton trained the winner of this race two years ago and looks to have a proper horse on her hands once again.
Any improvement for that debut run would put him right in the mix and he looks a good option to oppose the short-price favourite with.
The Nifty 50 Handicap (3.15pm) looks a wide-open race, and DEFIANCE is of significant interest.
The feeling from the Roger Varian yard is that this highly-tried son of Camelot, who was gelded last summer, was tricky to train as a colt but is now raring to go after almost a year off.
Said to be flying at home, the booking of Silvestre de Sousa looks all the more enticing about a horse initially thought to be a Derby contender.
It’s his first time up off a mark of 99 which could prove massively lenient given his smart form here last April when coming second just under a length to subsequent double Group-race winner Bellum Justum, and the 10/1 about him looks a great price.
POINTERS FRIDAY
Havana Hurricane e/w 2.05pm, Epsom Downs
Defiance e/w 3.15pm, Epsom Downs