Cambridge Stud’s outstanding Zoustar mare Joliestar was simply sensational, charging late to win the $1m BRC Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm, her third Group 1 victory.
Not seen on race day since her half-length second in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes during the Autumn Carnival, a race which has since produced Group 1 Doomben 10,000 winner Sunshine In Paris (Invader) and Group 1 Doomben Cup winner Antino (Redwood), Joliestar jumped away the race favourite on Saturday.
As the Chris Waller trained mare settled back in the field with just three behind her, Tony Gollan’s Zarastro (I Am Invincible) took up the running in his normal racing pattern with Godolphin’s Golden Mile (Astern) going forward to keep the leader company, sitting just off him.
As the leading duo were running the field along, skipping clear into the home straight, jockey James McDonald was starting to urge Joliestar along to make up some ground from back in the field, but she was still many lengths off the leaders.
With Zarastro and Golden Mile looking set to fight out the finish, Joliestar produced a brilliant turn of foot late to get up right on the line, recording her third Group 1 victory and sixth win overall from just 15 starts with more than $4.5m in earnings for connections.
With backmarkers finding it hard to make up ground, Waller was under no illusion that Joliestar was going to find it difficult.
“It's been hard to run the leaders down today and we discussed pre-race where we can't change our racing pattern,” stated Waller. “But in saying that, it was a lovely ride from James. He went straight across from the barriers and got in front of Giga Kick and one or two others, and that was probably the winning of the race.”
“She was off the bridle at the 500, but to her class, she just kept coming.”
“She's a pleasure to be training - the stable at the Gold Coast, call her the queen. So we'll run with that. She's the Queen of Queensland today.”
“She's a lovely horse. She's got a great record. She did it at three. She's won a Newmarket and had a lot of bad luck along the way.
In the run, jockey James McDonald thought he had little chance of winning the race, but the super mare had other ideas.
“Yeah, she made me look really well because there wasn't one stage I thought she was going to win the race," enthused McDonald.
“And then she put in this humongous dive with two strides to go. Oh, I'm a little chance here. And I looked up and saw the camera on me. She's a super mare.”
“I hit a flat spot just as the pace quickened. So the margin from first to where I was just exacerbated so greatly, so quickly. And then I thought, oh, no, but she's all class.”
Purchased by for Cambridge Stud’s Brendan and Jo Lindsay for $950,000 from the Segenhoe Stud draft at the 2022 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, the Chris and Jane Barham-bred Joliestar is a half-sister to stakes-placed God Of Thunder (More Than Ready) and Emperor (I Am Invincible).
Joliestar is clearly the best of six individual winners, from six to race, out of the Fastnet Rock mare Jolie Bay, herself a sister to Group 1 winner Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock), Listed winner Setanta (Fastnet Rock) and the dams of stakes winners Airman (I Am Invincible), Ebhaar (I Am Invincible) and Hindaam (Savabeel)
Jolie Bay has a yearling filly by Zoustar, a filly foal by Anamoe and is due to foal to Zoustar in the upcoming breeding season.
Joining Zougotcha and Sunlight as a triple Group 1 winner for her sire, Joliestar is one of 11 individual Group 1 winners for Zoustar who will stand at a fee of $275,000 (inc. GST) in the spring at Widden Stud.
