Evade holds off Native American in Epsom thriller

Evade just got the better of a titanic tussle with Native American to land the Listed-class Aston Martin Surrey Stakes at Epsom.

Oisin Murphy had the 10-1 winner in the front rank from the outset alongside Balmacara but as his fellow front-runner began to fade out, Native American emerged as a major threat under James Doyle.

The pair quickly put daylight between them and the rest of the field, but it was Archie Watson’s charge who always looked to be holding the upper hand and he got home by a short head.

It was a fine training performance by Watson, with Evade having last been seen finishing ninth in October’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp behind Rosallion, when under the care of Andre Fabre.

Doyle initially launched an objection against the winner, who came close to his mount late on, but that was quickly withdrawn.

Murphy said: “He has quite a long neck and it was pretty clear to me he had won.

“It is an amazing training performance from Archie Watson and the same man has been riding him out since he arrived from France. I haven’t sat on him because he is quite difficult to ride at home and to get him to win first time is a great effort.

“It wasn’t easy in the first furlong, as he jumped slow and was a bit crowded, but to get him to race nicely and stick his neck out in the finish takes an awful lot of hard work.

“He’s a bit flighty and anything can wind him up. I rode him in France last year when he just wouldn’t relax. In his two starts afterwards, he was very keen as well, so it is great to get him back on track.

“The obvious race is the Jersey Stakes (at Royal Ascot) and his sort of profile can often go well in a race like that. He did enough wrong today over a fast seven, but all the way to the line and to pull up, I had plenty of horse.

“To win the Jersey, you don’t have to run to as high a level as the Commonwealth Cup and if you take the leading protagonists of that race, Vandeek and Inisherin and River Tiber, they are fantastic horses.

“Wouldn’t it be lovely if I was able to get some space at Ascot, he didn’t over-race and I was able to see what we have.”

David Redvers, representing owners Qatar Racing, added: “He’s a very talented horse. There was a bit of a question of him running a bit free at the end of his two-year-old career and Sheikh Fahad decided he needed to come to England, where there is a bit more pace in the races.

“What he does not enjoy is sitting in a typically-French crawling sprint, so it was a very good call by the boss.

“Archie has done an outstanding job and has got the horse to settle and got him fit and ready for today – and there will be plenty of improvement to come from today.

“It’s rare for me to back a Qatar horse, but I backed him today because he was a ridiculous price.

“He will go for the Jersey Stakes now and hopefully he is back on track. British racing suits him, he needs an end-to-end gallop so he can settle, rather than fight against a slow pace.

“I don’t think ground will be an issue, he just needs a good gallop. We could possibly drop back in trip as well.”

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