Stardom and Zumbo attempt to strengthen Zoustar’s grip on sires’ title
Widden Stud’s Zoustar (Northern Meteor) is poised for another successful Saturday on the track, with his progeny well-placed to further boost his claims for a maiden Champion Australian Sires crown this season.
Having narrowly missed out on the top honours last year when finishing second to Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), who clinched his third consecutive title, Zoustar is now in pole position to go one better this year.
Currently leading the Australian General Sires’ standings with just eleven weeks left in the season, his push for premiership glory could gain further momentum this Saturday, with a pair of promising juveniles set to line up in the Woodlands Stakes (Listed, 1100m) at Scone.
Meanwhile in Queensland, Schwarz could bank the stallion more money when he looks to double his Group 1-winning tally in the Doomben 10,000 (Gr 1, 1200m), his swansong before he takes up stud duties at Rosemont in Victoria.
The stallion’s Woodlands Stakes duo is headed by the well-supported Stardom, a $3.80 chance and one of the leading hopes in the fillies’ feature. The impeccably bred youngster heads into Saturday’s contest off a dominant 3.17-length victory at Wagga, where she controlled the race from the front and put her rivals away with ease.
Not only does she boast that win, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained filly also comes through some red-hot form lines.
On debut at Kembla Grange, she finished third behind Saturday’s race favourite Akaysha (Capitalist), who subsequently finished second at Randwick, and Beadman (Snitzel), the colt who turned heads with a dominant 8.3-length win in the Ken Russell Memorial Classic (Gr 3, 1200m) at the Gold Coast last Saturday, propelling himself into early Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) discussions.
“Her first run was a brilliant effort with really hot speed and the horses out of that race have done really well,” Torryburn Stud Manager Melissa Copelin told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I think that was a phenomenal effort and so we think we were beaten by a pretty good horse, so that was a good form race for sure.”
“Then at Wagga she got to command the speed herself and she brained it. She is dropping back in trip a bit this time, but same age, same sex. Hopefully it’s the right race for her.
“I’ve just spoken with the stable and she’s come through her last run really well. She looks fantastic and the track’s probably going to be rain affected, but hopefully she can cope with it. She’s got to have a lot of luck, but you’ve got to be in it to win it.”
Bred and raced by Torryburn Stud, Stardom hails from a strong black-type family. Her dam is PJ Bell Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) winner Diddums (Snitzel), who was also bred and raced by Torryburn. Diddums herself a half-sister to the four-time Group 1-winning Hong Kong superstar Voyage Bubble (Deep Field).
From a family that holds deep significance for the Torryburn team, Stardom was never offered for sale as a yearling and was instead retained to race, before being handpicked from the paddock by the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott stable.
“Diddums is a homebred that we retained and raced ourselves. She was a very quick mare, she won the Group 3 PJ Bell. We still have her mother Raheights (Rahy) at the farm.
“Diddums is a half-sister to Voyage bubble, champion miler in Hong Kong, and this filly, being by Zoustar, is very closely related, so we really couldn’t let her go. She is almost irreplaceable, we couldn’t replace something like her, even if we sold her.
“So we were always going to keep her, not to mention the fact that she was a smashing type as well. We promised Gai and Adrian a filly, and we had a couple for them to pick through and they hand selected her from the paddock, so far it has worked out really well.
“Even if she doesn’t win, she’s already won a two-year-old race. And win, lose or draw, she’ll be spelling after this. She’s done really well, and I think she’s going to be a lovely filly moving forward. We should have a lot of fun with her.”
Stardom is the first foal by Zoustar out of Diddums, and according to Copelin, pairing the prized mare with the star sire was a no-brainer, on both type and on pedigree.
“I think Zoustar is the best stallion in Australia at the moment. With the physical aspect of Diddums, she was perfect for him. Obviously we want to breed to the best horse every year, and then just going through the mares she was perfect physically and on paper as well. Northern Meteor works with her family, as you can see, with Voyage Bubble, so it was pretty easy to pick.”
Torryburn will be hoping for more success across the day at Scone, with two other farm-bred runners set to contest races on the card.
“There’s also two other horses on the same race card that we’ve bred. We’ve got Scalextrics in race five, he’s got a very good chance, and especially if the track is rain affected.
“We also have Oakfield Jupiter in the Listed Denise Joy Stakes. She’s two wins from two starts, it’s obviously a step up in grade, but it’s very exciting to see her as well. Both of them had been bred and sold by Torryburn, so it’s very exciting.”
While Stardom brings strong credentials into Saturday’s race, she won’t be Zoustar’s only hope in the field, with undefeated filly Zumbo also set to line up for home-track trainer Brett Cavanough.
A homebred for Segenhoe Stud, Zumbo boasts a pedigree to match her early promise. She is out of the Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare Panna Cotta, who finished third behind Macroura (Snitzel) in the 2020 running of the Woodlands Stakes. The daughter of Fastnet Rock is out of Listed scorer, making her a sister to Group 3 winner Serene Majesty and a half-sister to both Group 3 scorer Ducasse (Trapeze Artist) and Curdled (All Too Hard), whose three wins were headlined by a Listed victory.
Zumbo made an immediate impression on debut, winning stylishly at Grafton by a length, before backing it up with another professional performance at Muswellbrook last start extending her flawless record to two-from-two.
“She’s had two educational wins,” Cavanough told ANZ Bloodstock News. “Peter O’Brien was selling a yearling and he said, ‘It’d be lovely if you could win a two-year-old race with her.’ So I put her on the truck and we went for a drive to Grafton, and we got the job done.
“I was surprised when she bounced to the front, but I thought it was quite a moderate field. Then the other day at Muswellbrook, she just flew into the bridle and, when asked the question, she delivered.”
Cavanough has been taken by Zumbo’s temperament and physical presence from the outset, and said the daughter of Zoustar has done everything right so far.
“Around the place she’s just a gorgeous filly, and she’s a big girl. She looks like Zoustar too. Big loose walk, silky skin, she’s very much like Zoustar.
“My apprentice Braith Nock, he said to me the other morning ‘I can’t wait to get her out over a bit of distance’ because she just relaxes in your hands and she’s just a sweetheart to do anything with.
“She had a nice gallop Saturday morning, and she’s ready to go. She is owned by Segenhoe and I leased her off them, so if she runs a place on Saturday, I reckon I’ll be Uncle Kevin’s [Maloney, owner] favourite son for a while.
“I was very lucky, Peter O’Brien had a couple of fillies for lease, and we leased some fillies off the studs. With her, we got lucky. She’s got two wins straight away, and she’s heading into a stakes race well educated.
“There are well bred horses in Hunter Valley everywhere, and I’m just lucky to get my hands on one every now and then.”
Drawn in barrier five and to be ridden by rising star apprentice Braith Nock, Zumbo will be aiming to give Cavanough a maiden win in the Woodlands Stakes at his home track.
“I don’t give Braith too many instructions now. He knows all the horses, he rides their work and he knows where they’ve got to be. He’s unbelievable, he’s impeccable with his form, he just does form all day and all night, he knows only every horse in Australia at the moment.
“She’ll just land in his hand somewhere, he will settle third or fourth on her, I would say. But obviously, it’s a huge step up in grade with some of those Metropolitan fillies coming out of Sydney to the race, so there’ll be a bit of pressure early.
“I’d say he’ll just stay away from the early pressure and present late on her home track. She’ll know where she is. It’s a big track and there’s a bit of moisture about. She’s worked here under wet conditions quite a few times. There won’t be too many instructions, just go and get the job done if we’re good enough.
“I haven’t cracked the Woodlands yet, it would be nice to win it.”