Zavata clocks up US win for Tabor

Owner Michael Tabor may be out of the limelight in Europe at present due to the virus afflicting Aidan O'Brien's stable but he had better luck in America last night.

Zavata carried his colours to an impressive seven-and-a-quarter-length victory in the Grade Two Saratoga Special for two-year-olds at Saratoga in New York.

The colt is now likely to be aimed at the Grade One Hopeful Stakes on the same course on August 31, with the Breeders' Cup Juvenile an obvious long-term target.

Trainer Patrick Biancone said of the winner: "He is just a galloping machine. I don't think you meet too many like him in a trainer's life."

Meanwhile jockey Shane Sellers, best known in Britain for his association with the Philip Mitchell-trained Running Stag, has announced his retirement from race-riding due to weight problems.