Five year-old Zoustar gelding Regal Zeus is closing in on a million dollars in prizemoney after scoring a bold front running win in the Listed MRC Lord Stakes (1600m) at Sandown on Boxing Day.
Trained by John McArdle and ridden by Jye McNeil, Regal Zeus was well rated in front and gave a big kick off the home turn to open up a winning break.
Although tiring towards the line, Regal Zeus had enough up his sleeve to win by three-quarters of a length taking his overall record to 10 wins and six seconds from 32 starts with prizemoney topping $965,000.
John McArdle was optimistic the race would be a good target for Regal Zeus and he was right.
“Getting back to the mile and a race shape that suited him and Jye gave him a perfect ride,” he said.
“He can be a bit of a trick for someone that hasn’t ridden him before, but Jye is a professional and looked at his videos and saw what to do.
“When he kicked coming around the turn… at a mile, he’s a tough horse to run down.”
A $150,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Regal Bloodstock / Blue Grass (FBAA) / Redgum Racing from the Edinburgh Park draft, Regal Zeus was bred by Ian Smith and is the best of two winners from Group III placed Quiet Kitten (USA), a grand-daughter of stakes-winner Darling Alice, whose daughters have had plenty of success in Australia producing Group II winner Glenfiddich and stakes-winning $2.4million earner Eleven Eleven.
Quiet Kitten was sold in the Edinburgh Park Dispersal at Magic Millions National in 2023 with Kingstar Farm picking up the mare for $120,000.
They sold a Zoustar yearling colt from her at Inglis Classic this year for $200,000 and after missing in 2023, Quiet Kitten was covered last year by Zoustar’s Group I winning son Ozzmosis and produced a three-quarter brother to Regal Zeus this spring.
