Roger Varian looks to have a smart prospect on his hands from the first batch of horses he’s been sent by Godolphin in the shape of Betfred Flying Scotsman Stakes winner Avicenna.
With Catallus a non-runner, William Buick jumped aboard the son of Starspangledbanner who had landed a maiden over course-and-distance on his only previous start last month.
And the partnership needed every yard of the seven-furlong trip to wear down 5/4 favourite Hankelow, the winner never in front until the stride before the line as he scored by a nose.
The trainer said: "I’m very grateful to Sheikh Mohammed and the Godolphin team for supporting me with four horses this year. I’m delighted this colt made a winning start and came and backed it up today.
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“I was very pleased with the performance and a big shout out to Robert Winston who’s been riding him at home and has done a wonderful job. He’s a colt who is learning on the job and was very strong through the line. I’m thrilled.
“He’s a horse who took a while to furnish into his frame. He came here and enjoyed a good debut, again learning on the job, and we felt he’d taken a big step forward at home since then.
“That’s when I thought we had a nice horse, looking at him over the last fortnight. We’ll give his next race a bit of thought. I’ll watch this back and see how he comes out of it and he will get a mile well, whether it be this year or next. He’s a horse to look forward to, I think he’ll be a miler.”
Of the other Godolphin two-year-olds he has in training, Varian added: “They’re all nice horses but all three are by Sea The Stars, are late-maturing horses and will be out in the autumn, probably in October.”
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