Zhukhov swoops for Curtis and McCourt The six furlongs Brandon Hotel Handicap appeared a wide open affair beforehand with bookmakers going 5/1 the field, and joint favourite Zhukhov proved best to record his second win of the year and fifth in total. Ben Curtis settled the Tom McCourt-trained gelding in mid-field, and the six-year-old picked up well when asked for his effort in the straight – leading inside the final furlong to beat the staying on Mt Weather by three quarters of a length.