News - ZOUSTAR (AUS)
The only living foal of blue-blood Fastnet Rock mare Alter Call, who sadly died last year, gave Newgate Farm another big result in the sale ring when selling for $1.15million on Thursday.
The full sister to former superstar sprinter Sunlight sold for $2.6 million late today and in doing so smashed the all time record in the rich history of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
It’s been a big day at the sales for Zoustar and Lime Country Thoroughbreds were in the spotlight when their colt from Ravenous Lass sold for $850,000 to James Harron for his colts partnership.
Victorian based Musk Creek Farm have sold some good horses at Magic Millions including Golden Slipper winner Pierro, but they’ve never sold one more expensive than the filly by Zoustar from Personalised that fetched $800,000 on Wednesday.
She was the most expensive weanling sold in Australia last year when she fetched $750,000 at the Gold Coast in May and on Tuesday she became the first seven figure yearling of 2023 when selling at Magic Millions.
Champion trainer Chris Waller has a knack with a good Zoustar filly, think Zougotcha, Kiku and Madam Rouge, add this filly to the list after she blitzed her rivals at Eagle Farm on Wednesday and she has a half-brother headed to Magic Millions.
The big money races keep coming in Western Australia with the $1.5million Group III WATC Gold Rush (1400m) won by Victorian raider The Astrologist, a six year-old gelding by Widden Stud’s champion sire Zoustar.
Three interesting heats for juveniles at Rosehill on Thursday morning were won by Gimcrack winner Platinum Jubilee, a Capitalist filly we highlighted last month and a smart colt by Trapeze Artist.
Beaten out of a place as an odd-on favourite on a heavy track at Traralgon, the 3yo Zoustar colt Zouthur appreciated the firmer going when breaking his maiden over 1200m at Sandown-Lakeside on Wednesday.
The $250,000 Magic Millions Ballarat 2YO Classic (1000m) on Saturday produced an ultra-impressive winner with Zoustar colt Sunsource making light of the testing conditions to charge home and win running away.
Off the back of siring this year’s Champion European 2YO Filly Lezoo, Zoustar will again be headed back to the Northern Hemisphere for another shuttle season with Tweenhills Stud, who have announced his fee at £30,000.
Australian racing has been awash with million dollar races in recent months and the vast sums on offer can skew the sire tables to an extent so a look at the leading sires by stakes-winners list offers a different insight.
Recently retired to stand at Shadwell, Baaeed took the top honours at the 32nd Cartier Racing Awards when crowned Horse of the Year and Older Horse of the Year at the Dorchester Hotel in London on Wednesday evening with Zoustar filly Lezoo crowned Champion 2YO Filly.
Chris Waller already has one superstar Zoustar filly in his stable in G1 Flight Stakes winner Zougotcha and he may have another with Kazou running up to her brilliant trials to score a facile debut victory at Randwick on Wednesday.
After a big Saturday of stakes racing, Zoustar still holds the top slot on the Australian General Sires List by earnings and he featured on Sunday with a debut winner that could be considered a bargain buy given the soaring stocks of his sire.
Widden Stud’s champion sire Zoustar posted some good results at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale this week and his top seller is an interesting one as her dam is now in Australia and recently produced a filly by Frankel.
After a big weekend of stakes racing in Sydney and Melbourne there has been some change on the sire tables so let’s take a look at the division leaders and they aren't all the expensive sires.
Zoustar filly Zougotcha has been the find of the spring carnival emerging from a winter break as a maiden winner and progressing at Randwick on Saturday to down the best fillies in the land by winning the Group I ATC Flight Stakes (1600m).
Champion trainer Gai Waterhouse had amazingly never won a Group III ATC Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) until today, but that all changed when exciting Zoustar filly Platinum Jubilee zoomed home at Randwick to win the first juvenile fillies stakes race of the season.
The Group I ATC Flight Stakes (1600m) is the first Group I event of the season for three year-old fillies and the honour list is long and impressive, but the 2016 winner stamped herself as something exceptional and her first foal will be out to win his first stakes race at Randwick on Saturday.