Pablo Escobarr

31st-Jul-2020

Desert Encounter is the correct favourite here.  He won this race last year, he goes well at Goodwood, and he ran well in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes last time.

However, I think that Pablo Escobarr should be closer to him in the market than he is.  Fifth in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last year, William Haggas’ horse ran two nice races last winter after a breathing operation.   He wasn’t beaten far by the top class Lord North at Newmarket in November, and he stepped forward from that to win a listed race at Kempton in December.

After running well in a Group 2 race at Meydan in the spring, he returned from a gelding operation at Newmarket last last month and finished a close-up third behind Universal Order in a four-horse listed race.  He stepped forward from that last time in finishing a close-up third again in a listed race at Newbury, when he tried to make all over 10 furlongs, a trip that is short of his best.

He should appreciate the step back up to a mile and a half today, and he should appreciate the return to Goodwood, where he won and ran well in defeat in two runs as a juvenile.

His forward-going style is well suited to the track, and he should out-run his odds.

PABLO ESCOBARR WON (ADV 5/1, SP 9/2)