Escobar

Escobar ran a fine race to finish second to Tigre Du Terre in the 1m handicap. Racing in rear through the early stages of the race, a race in which it was probably an advantage to race handily, he moved through his field nicely in the home straight and he arrived there under Daniel Tudhope to mount a challenge at the 1f pole. He couldn’t get past the winner, but that horse is a highly-regarded and progressive horse of Richard Hannon’s who was well backed and, in hindsight, well handicapped, and Escobar finished a good second in a race that was run in a decent time.

This was his fifth run for David O’Meara and he continues to progress. He won nicely at Haydock in early June, and he didn’t run badly in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot six days later. The handicapper left him on his mark of 102, which was fair, and he will be of interest now in a similar contest. While his best form is at Haydock and Sandown on fast ground, he is versatile in terms of track configuration and he didn’t run badly in a Group 3 contest at Goodwood on the only occasion on which he has raced on soft ground. He holds an entry in the Golden Mile at Goodwood, and he will be of interest if he lines up in that contest.

Sandown, 7^th July 2018