Ventura storms to G1 victory for Zoffany

The Richard Hannon-trained Ventura Storm (3c Zoffany-Sarawati, by Haafhd) brought G1 glory for Zoffany in Milan on Sunday.

The tough three-year-old headed to Italy on the back of a second place in the G1 St Leger and he was steered by Cristian Demuro to win the G1 Premio Jockey Club at San Siro.

The Middleham Park Racing-owned colt, who was bred by Laurence Kennedy, also scored in G3 company at Deauville in August. Tim Palin of Middleham Park Racing commented: "It was a superb performance and a great ride by the jockey. "It's great for everybody and a great plan that came together. The horse was very gutsy. He had every reason after a hard season to down tools, but he dug deep and the jockey got the best out of him.” Looking ahead to next year, Palin added: "He's had a long, hard season. He's won his Group 1. I think we'll put him away for the season and probably start 2017 off with the G1 Coronation Cup as his first serious target. He might have a run or two along the way."