James Ferguson's Zoology ready to make step up in Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket Racecourse's Rowley Mile

Newmarket-based trainer James Ferguson is confident Zoology has the mental capacity to deal with Saturday’s major step up in class.

The two-year-old was highly impressive on his debut at Yarmouth earlier this month, dictating the pace of the 14-horse British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes before eventually easing to a four-length victory.

It was a performance that convinced Ferguson and owners Qatar Racing to go through with their entry for the Group 1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at the Rowley Mile, for which he was a 16/1 shot when the Journal went to print.

The opposition will be of a much high calibre to what Zoology faced at the Norfolk track, yet Ferguson feels there is more to come from the son Zoustar.

He said: “He’s come out of Yarmouth fresh and he didn’t lose much weight. The way he went out there and won the race, it didn’t take much out of him and there’s plenty left.

“The Middle Park has been on our radar for a long time but the closer it got it was just about seeing how he came out of the run at Yarmouth.

“He’s won that very impressively and Qatar Racing have given us permission to go for it.

“It’s a big ask, we all know that, but mentally I feel he’s got the constitution to step up.

“His time at Yarmouth was very good and win, lose or draw we felt it was worth taking a shot at it.”

Ferguson is also hopeful that having Cieren Fallon – Qatar Racing’s retained jockey – in the saddle will bolster his mount’s chances.

The 24-year-old is no stranger to success at the highest level, particularly with the sprinting sensation Oxted.

“Cieren has plenty of confidence in the horse and he also knows how to win Group 1 races,” he said.

“He knows the horse really well, he’s ridden it in work and you could see at Yarmouth as soon as the gate opened that he had no doubts about him.

“That sort of belief is really important between a jockey and a horse.”