Fortune favours Khafoo Shememi in feature at Sandown
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
By Racinguk.com staff
Khafoo Shememi again showed his liking for Sandown when asserting close home to take the Racehorse Sanctuary Fortune Stakes.
It was the Richard Hannon-trained three-year-old's second Listed success over a mile at the Esher course following his win in the Heron Stakes in May.
Absent since finishing last of nine at York the following month, the Dark Angel colt showed he had benefited from the break.
Restrained by his rider Sean Levey just behind the pace set by Naval Warfare, Khafoo Shememi came with a long winding run down the centre of the course.
Leading inside the final furlong, the 14-1 shot kept on stoutly to beat Hors De Combat by three-quarters of a length. The always-prominent Larchmont Lad was a neck away in third.
"I was confident after the way he worked last week. I've been riding him at home trying to get him to settle. He had been hard to train but has now been doing everything right," Levey told Racing UK.
"Before today he probably looked a bit one-dimensional as he'd been making his own running. I was hoping something would go forward and give me a nice chance to drop him in and get him settled.
"He seemed to go through the race like a professional. He's shown today how much better he is.
"I'd prefer him on quicker ground, but he's handled this today. When he gets into top gear he grinds it out all the way to the line and the ground probably slowed it down a bit for the other horses.
"He's worked so well at home that I'd like to see him step up and I think he'll come forward from today."
Jim Crowley took the riding honours with a 90-1 treble on two-year-olds Kitaabaat and Wafy in the colours of his boss Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, and on The Statesman.
The champion jockey struck first on Kitaabaat (9-4 favourite) as the Owen Burrows-trained Dansili colt got off the mark at the third attempt with a three-quarter-length call over Sevenna Star in the gg.co.uk Supports The Racehorse Sanctuary EBF Novice Stakes.
The Charlie Hills-trained Wafy (13-2) showed plenty of improvement for his debut run to floor 4-7 favourite Il Primo Sole by a length and a half in the Max Patel Wealth Manager Of Choice Conditions Stakes.
The Statesman (11-4 favourite), trained by Ian Williams, completed the Crowley hat-trick as he got home by half a length from Jupiter Light in the Molson Coors Handicap.
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