Rohaan primed for Hackwood assignment at Newbury

Simon Milham
July 19, 2023 3:57 pm

David Evans seeking good conditions for stable star.

David Evans hopes the ground will be in Rohaan’s favour as the consistent sprinter bids for a fourth Group-race success in the bet365 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

Bought for 20,000 guineas in October 2020, the Mayson gelding has proven to be a real money-spinner, winning nine times in 29 races for Evans.

He has climbed from basement-level handicaps on the all-weather to securing back-to-back successes in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot and a Group Two victory at Haydock.

Plans were hatched to head to both Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia last winter, but those ideas had to be shelved by the Monmouthshire handler when the gelding suffered a setback.

Winner of over GBP 400,000, Rohaan was almost retired before striking late at Royal Ascot under Ryan Moore last summer, having previously suffered a dip in form.

He went on to add the Group Three Bengough Stakes at Ascot to his second Wokingham triumph.

While he has yet to show the same level of form that also saw him placed in the Sprint Cup at Haydock and sign off in October with a close-up fourth to Kinross in the British Champions Sprint, Evans feels he is getting there.

The five-year-old has had three runs this term, the last of which saw him beaten three lengths by The Big Board in a valuable five-furlong Ascot handicap last weekend.

Evans said: “After his injury, he took a couple of runs to get himself in peak condition and to have the confidence to let himself go like he did the other day.

“I only ran him there just to finish a race off. Hopefully he’ll have a good chance as he goes back up to six furlongs.

“Let’s hope the ground doesn’t go too quick. It is still saying good, good to soft.

“Hopefully Newbury will have a shower to freshen it up. I don’t think it will be fast ground anyway and he should go there with a decent chance – he was only beaten a length and three-quarters in it last year.”