Off the mark on debut from a subsequent winner over this course and distance July 15, Escobar made the necessary improvement to capture this often-important staging post won in 2014 by Belardo (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and in the more distant past by Haafhd (GB), Lammtarra, Tenby (GB) and Rodrigo de Triano. Anchored last of the four early, the bay was delivered to take the lead from the G2 Superlative S. third Mr Scaramanga with a touch of style with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining and readily asserted from there. “He's a very nice horse with plenty of scope for next year,” jockey Frankie Dettori said. “These four-runner races can be quite technical, but he was very straightforward and won with a bit in hand. I still feel he's on the weak side and not the finished article.”
Trainer Hug Palmer's assistant George Boughey was impressed. “He put it to bed quite early, but he has always shown a good change of gear,” he said. “He has always been a horse for next year and he will get a mile. Frankie said take it nice and slowly, as he is next year's horse. We just had to get this stepping-stone out the way first before we could see where we go and he did it well. He got a bit lonely in front and he was still a bit green. I'd say we won't be jumping up to group one level yet, we will let him develop in his own time.”
Famous Name (by Dansili {GB}) was a tough and resilient performer for Dermot Weld and remarkably consistent, so that bodes well for Escobar who was his first winner last month and now his first black-type winner too. He is a half-brother to the classy Hong Kong performer Ghetto Gospel and the stakes-placed Bobbi Grace (Ire) (Big Bad Bob {Ire}) out of the G2 Prix d'Astarte third Saying Grace and his extended family includes the champion 2-year-old and G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G2 Falmouth S. heroine Lemon Souffle (GB) (Salse) as well as the G2 Nassau S. and G2 Falmouth S. scorer Caramba (GB) (Belmez).
DENFORD STUD WASHINGTON SINGER S.-Listed, £25,500, NBY, 8-13, 2yo, 7fT, 1:26.17, g/f.
1–#ESCOBAR (IRE), 127, c, 2, by Famous Name (GB)
1st Dam: Saying Grace (Ire) (GSP-Fr & MSP-Ire), by Brief Truce
2nd Dam: Adamparis (GB), by Robellino
3rd Dam: Mrs Darling, by Mummy's Pet (GB)
(€105,000 Wlg '14 GOFNOV; €280,000 Ylg '15 GOFORB). O-Carmichael Jennings; B-Peter Evans (IRE); T-Hugo Palmer; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £14,461. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $27,316. *1/2 to Bobbi Grace (Ire) (Big Bad Bob {Ire}), MSP-US, $135,272; and Ghetto Gospel (Ire) (Celtic Swing {GB}), SP-HK, $511,887.
2–Mr Scaramanga (GB), 127, c, 2, Sir Percy (GB)–Lulla (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB). (14,000gns Wlg '14 TATFOA; €78,000 Ylg '15 TISEP). O-Chelsea Thoroughbreds – Golden Gun. £5,482.
3–Amabilis (GB), 122, f, 2, Champs Elysees (GB)–Pure Joy (GB), by Zamindar. O-Khalid Abdullah. £2,744.
Margins: 1 1/4, 5, HD. Odds: 1.00, 6.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Frankuus (Ire). Scratched: Argenterie (GB). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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