Zaaki fulfils long-held belief from agent Boman
Bloodstock agent Stuart Boman had pinpointed the talent of yesterday’s Doomben Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Zaaki (Leroidesanimaux) a long time before his electric breakthrough success at the elite level.
Longer, even, than when he was purchased by Blandford Bloodstock’s Boman, in conjunction with trainer Annabel Neasham, from the Tattersalls October Horses In Training Sale last year.
Indeed, it was as a three-year-old in a season which yielded just his maiden victory that Boman saw his future lying in Australia.
“I’ve been following this horse for a long period of time, since he was a three-year-old I’ve been trying to make enquiries to try and buy him and he was never for sale,” Boman told ANZ Bloodstock News after the seven-length demolition of the decorated Doomben Cup field by Zaaki.
“He was the horse I wanted to buy when the book (for the Tattersalls October Horses in Training Sale) came out.”
Now a northern hemisphere six-year-old, Zaaki struck for his sixth victory yesterday in 25 starts, in a career that has catapulted from Listed-race toiler in September 2020 to Group 1 winner at just his fourth start in Australia and, although Boman always had belief in the ability of the horse, even he has been taken aback by the rapid progression the gelding has shown since his arrival Down Under.
“You couldn’t have dreamt that this outcome with a Group 1 winner, that quickly, would happen with him,” said Boman.
“What I saw in him, at the time (of the sale), was he was consistently running at a rating of around 110 from a three-year-old to a five-year-old.
“I think people look at these older horses as being a punt. I don’t. I’ve had a lot of success in the past buying older horses and there’s relatively good value.
“He’s a two-time Group 3 winner and a 110/112-rated horse. This is a good horse. He loves firm ground, high cruising speed, good turn of foot. He was always crying out for a fast pace to run at.”
In her post-race interview, Neasham was quick to lay credit at the feet of Boman for sourcing the horse they purchased for 150,000gns from the Sir Michael Stoute stable, while Boman himself was keen to highlight the training performance of the young handler, who scored a second Group 1 victory in what’s just her first season with a license.
“I’ve got to give a big shout out to Stuart Boman, who found this horse at the Newmarket Tattersalls Horses In Training Sale,” said an emotional Neasham post-race.
“We didn’t pay a whole lot for him, he was a little bit older but we took a chance. We had to fit the budget.
“And big credit to him, he looks a proper Group 1 horse.”
The relationship between trainer and agent is one that developed during Neasham’s time learning her trade under Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, where she fronted their Sydney stable and worked with Boman to source horses to bring down from Europe.
“People shouldn’t underestimate the job she (Annabel Neasham) has done with him,” said Boman. “She’s made it look easy. This horse landed there in late December, early January, hasn’t missed a beat since and ran first time out in a Doncaster.
“Annabel got a group together to buy a horse,” he recalled. “We’d worked together when she was at Ciaron Mahers and had developed a working relationship from there, with a good level of success having bought some nice horses together.
“She called me when she took her training license out and said she wanted to buy some Europeans.
“We went through our usual process and list I’d put together and she ultimately said ‘what’s your number one pick’ and I said ‘Zaaki is my number one pick’, to which she said ‘right, we’ll get it vetted, how much is it going to cost?’.”
It’s a trust and partnership between agent and trainer that has yielded its highest achievement so far.
Zaaki scorched the 2000 metres of Doomben in time just one tenth of a second outside the course record in a blistering display of early dash and relentless cruising speed, allowing jockey James McDonald to stand up in his irons and salute the gobsmacked crown a long way from home. The record was at his mercy if he wanted it.
And it is these traits, along with an imposing physical demeanour, that Boman says highlighted his suitability for the rigours of Australian racing.
“Ultimately you need speed and that’s what this horse has,” continued Boman. “He could’ve broken the track record today.
“I remember when I went and saw him at the horses in training sale. He’s a gelding, but physically he’s got the appearance of a stallion. He’s a very muscular horse.
“You’d stand into him and there’s a lot of him; A big girth, a great shoulder and hindquarter and good bone. You knew you’d seen him. He was a physical presence and an Aussie type of horse.”
In the aftermath of Zaaki’s eye-catching display, he was cut to 3-1 favouritism to land spring’s premier weight-for-age feature, the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) and, although foreseeing his ability, in Boman’s eyes it wasn’t necessarily over the mile and a quarter trip the horse now finds himself recipient of ‘the best in the land’ tag.
“Did I think he would turn into a Cox Plate horse? I always thought he was a better miler,” said Boman. “But if I’m going to buy a Caulfield Cup or Melbourne Cup horse, I buy a ten furlong horse, if I’m going to buy a ten furlong horse I buy a miler.”