Harness racing: Unbeaten trotter Keayang Zahara faces ‘real test' stepping into open-aged racing for the first time
Unbeaten trotting mare Keayang Zahara will be at her most vulnerable when she returns from a lengthy spell at Melton on Saturday night.
The four-year-old boasts 14 wins, including seven at Group 1 level, is the best young trotter Australia has seen for decades.
Keayang Zahara hasn't raced since thrashing her rivals in the Group 1 NZ Trotting Derby in Christchurch on December 6.
Despite stepping into open-aged racing for the first time, Keayang Zahara will be straight into the deep end against some proven older Group 1 stars, headed by Im Ready Jet and Great Southern Star winner Watts Up Partytime.
Co-trainer Paddy Lee said a range of factors made this Keayang Zahara's biggest test yet.
'She's first-up, it's a sprint and she's against some quality, hardened older horses. It's a real test,' he said.
'Under the handicapping system, there's no easy transition from racing her against her own age. It's straight into free-for-alls and against strong opposition.'
Lee said he and mother Marg, who co-trains Keayang Zahara, aren't overly worried about her unbeaten streak.
'Sure you'd love them to keep winning, but that means more to others than us. We know it'll come to an end, it could be this week,' he said.
'Maybe it's lucky Mum and I are quite relaxed people. I'm not saying we won't be a bit nervous by race time, but we're realistic, too.'
Caution aside, Lee said Keayang Zahara was ready to resume.
'She's as ready as we can get her without a race,' he said. 'We normally don't like to give our horses too hard a trial at Terang because the surface is quite heavy, but we tried to treat her trial last week like a race because we knew she was going straight into a strong race.
'All the signs are good at home. I wouldn't say she's grown much during the break, but she's certainly filled out.
'I think that's just going to be her, she's a really athletic, long and lanky sort of mare.'
Everyone put your hands together for Keayang Zahara ðŸ'�
The daughter of Volstead makes it 14 starts for 14 wins taking out the 2024 Garrards New Zealand Trotting Derby in the hands of Jason Lee for trainer Margaret Lee @AddingtonNZ | @HarnessRacingNZ | @WoodlandsStudNZ pic.twitter.com/54zdsQCjv5
— Trackside NZ (@TracksideNZ) December 6, 2024
Lee's cousin, Glen Craven, will replace Jason Lee and drive Keayang Zahara for the first time on Saturday.
'That's Jase's call. We all love sharing the load and opportunities down here and Jase wanted Glen to have a few drives on the mare,' he said.
Craven will stay aboard when Keayang Zahara heads to Sydney to chase more Group 1 glory in Saturday week's $100,000 Macarthur Mile at Menangle.
'I think the plan is for Glen to drive for a while and then Jase to get back aboard for the Brisbane (Inter Dominion) series,' Lee said.
Keayang Zahara isn't renowned for her gate speed and has barrier three on Saturday night. Im Ready Jet (two) and Watts Up Partytime (four) are either side of her.
'We just hope she isn't too fresh and doesn't get fired up with all the speed around her at the start,' Lee said.
'We're going there happy with where she's at, but also knowing it'll be quite a challenge to start her season.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mercury
an hour ago
- Mercury
Kovalica ends winning drought in thrilling Q22 win at Eagle Farm
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. Prominent Queensland owner Nev Morgan never doubted Kovalica would win another race. He just didn't know when. But the stars aligned on Saturday and Kovalica returned to the scene of his Group 1 Queensland Derby triumph of 2023 – the last time he won a race – to score the rich Q22 (2200m). • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! But it was far from an easy watch to break the long winning drought as Kovalica dived at New Endeavour on the line and no one at Eagle Farm had much of an idea who had won. Not even Morgan, who thought he might have been narrowly beaten. But when the judge put the winner's number up, Kovalica was in the frame. Kovalica may have not won for a long time and he has often been a tease. But in fairness, he has raced at a high level including tackling a Cox Plate, Melbourne Cup, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Doncaster Miles. • 'The boys have done it': Hayes proud of sons' landmark Stradbroke success 'Of course I thought he would win again,' Morgan, who owns Kovalica with fellow Queenslander and great mate David Devine, said. 'Even before today, he had won $3.3m in prizemoney. 'He races in all the good races. 'I hope he could even be a Melbourne Cup horse this year, he only got beaten four lengths in the race last year. 'The maestro (Chris Waller) will work all that out. 'I didn't think this horse had won on the line today but my son-in-law said he thought he had, so I'm glad he was right.' • Cool Archie delivers Group 1 milestones in JJ Atkins Winning rider Nash Rawiller also had no idea whether Kovalica had broken the drought. 'It was a long ride back to scale, making sure that I'd got there,' Rawiller said. 'I feel like I've redeemed myself for saying he'd win the Melbourne Cup last year. 'What a horse he's been. 'We made a call during the week – as late as Tuesday morning – to put the blinkers on today. 'You could tell in the run that he was going to do something. 'I've had a bit of a shit time lately, so I feel like I've bounced right back in a big way.' Plenty have questioned whether Kovalica would get back to the winner's stall, but not Waller and his team. 'We haven't lost faith in him and he's been a good horse without winning,' Waller said. 'It took the length of the Eagle Farm straight to get there. 'That's his first win for a couple of years. He's been working to something good.' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Brisbane Cup win fuels Melbourne Cup aspirations for Campaldino - Daniel Pace Campaldino will be set for the race that stops a nation following his impressive victory in the $400,000 Group 2 Brisbane Cup (3200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday. The four-year-old gelding sat behind a dawdling speed early in the race before powering ahead of the pack to finish more than a length ahead of the Chris Waller-trained pair Etna Rosso ($3.70) and Manzoice ($12) to rubber-stamp his passage to the $8m Melbourne Cup on the first Tuesday in November. 'You've got to look at that type of race for him,' said Adrian Bott, who trains in partnership with racing royalty Gai Waterhouse. 'He saw that out (3200m trip) strongly. Obviously we didn't make any grand plans before today but that (Melbourne Cup) is always in the back of your mind. 'We just wanted to get through this campaign first and he's done an excellent job. 'We were only focused on this campaign but now's the time to go back and analyse what path we take to the Cup.' In a nice twist of fate, Campaldino used to share a trackwork tie-up row with Pier, the winner of the earlier The Wayne Wilson over a mile, in Matamata, New Zealand. 'He's an amazing, progressive horse,' Bott said. 'He's come a long way and that tops off the campaign nicely. He can't have too long off but he's had some nice conditioning this preparation and we'll try and work backwards from the Melbourne Cup. 'He's still learning what it is all about. Even when he hit the front I was worried about him getting there too early. There is still progression (to come).' Jockey Tim Clark was back on Campaldino after guiding him to a 1¾-length victory in the Group 3 Queen Elizabeth Cup (2400m) on a heavy Eagle Farm track two weeks ago. 'Since the blinkers have been removed he has been much better,' Clark said. 'That has helped him be so strong at the end of his races. 'He's a pleasure to ride and another good find out of New Zealand. He has come here and really found his mojo now. 'He's shooting through the grades nicely. He's thrived with the sun on his back and he can run a strong two miles. 'When he had clean air he really dragged me forward. He had energy stored in the run and he picked up when I let him go.' Originally published as Owner Nev Morgan's unwavering belief in Kovalica pays off with victory in Group 2 Q22 at Eagle Farm
The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
Cool Archie delivers Group 1 milestones with fifth straight win in JJ Atkins
Almost 10 years after winning his last Group 1 at Royal Ascot, Irish jockey Martin Harley will head to the famous racetrack in England next week as the JJ Atkins champion after producing a peach of a ride on local hero Cool Archie at Eagle Farm on Saturday. Harley thought he had got to the front too soon but he need not have worried as he sustained the pace to secure the winner's cheque in the $1m major over 1600m for father-and-son trainers Chris and Corey Munce. Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! 'He's going home to Ireland tonight so I'm tipping he'll be pretty pissed,' colourful owner Max Whitby said about Harley at the post-race presentation. Harley, who suffered a potentially career-threatening broken neck in a sickening mid-week race fall in January 2023, will return home to Ireland on Saturday night and then visit Royal Ascot in London for their big summer carnival races. Martin won the last of his now six Group 1 victories in the 2015 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and has added majors in France, Ireland and now Australia. • What the jockeys said: 2025 JJ Atkins 'It's been almost 10 years to the day that I had my last Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot so I'll take the anniversary over here,' Harley said. 'I'm on a plane tonight going back for Royal Ascot. And I might fly that plane myself tonight after that.' The racing wheel turned full circle with Cool Archie's win, given Chris Munce had won the race as a jockey when he partnered Sizzling in 2012. The stirring victory was the first Group 1 triumph as a training team for father-and-son combination Chris and Corey Munce. Outside the winner, the run of the race was runner-up Hidden Achievement, the Chris Waller-trained, Yulong-owned colt. Hidden Achievement was slow away and rattled home from the back with James McDonald, who had been battling illness during the day, saying the colt was a hard-luck story. Hidden Achievement, wearing blinkers for the first time, was an eye-catcher and so too was third-placed Bevan Laming-trained youngster Call Da Vinci who gave young jockey Jaden Lloyd a first Group 1 placing. • 'Would have been a Straddie force': Pier wins consolation in style 'You can't do it without the horse, he wears his heart on his sleeve. ' Harley said. 'Team Munce have been massive supporters of mine and we came across a good two-year-old this year. 'I think the horse has done most of the talking. He's taken a big step forward each run and that's what the good ones do. 'But to transform from a Heavy 10 to a Good 4 there today, which I knew he would handle, I never had any doubt in that. But what a superstar he is.' Chris Munce said Harley deserved more recognition for his abilities as a jockey and should be talked about as one of the top riders in Australia. Harley celebrates with trainers Corey and Chris Munce and owner Max Whitby. Picture: Trackside Photography 'Oh, what about that? So good, so good,' a jubilant Munce said. 'I was saying before it's not just about Corey and me, it's the whole team, the staff, and I don't think Martin (Harley) has had enough recognition either, the whole way along. 'He's five from five (On Cool Archie). 'When you put a rider like Martin on, you've got so much confidence. He walked the track yesterday. He told us exactly how he was going to ride the horse. 'He knew they weren't making ground, so we had to ride him a little bit out of his comfort zone, but what a win.' Victorian trainer Danny O'Brien explained his reasons for running his colt Brave Design in the earlier Listed Oxlade Stakes (1200m), which he won with ease to break his maiden status, rather than the JJ Atkins. 'I was concerned about the 1600m,' O'Brien said. 'I was happy enough to stick to the 1200m. If he ran fourth or fifth in the JJ Atkins, then you'd be kicking yourself that he could've won this race. 'He's got a good future. He ran second in the VRC Sires' to Vinrock (at Flemington in March) and ran a good race here two weeks ago (fourth in the BRC Sires' Produce Stakes at Eagle Farm). 'He's been in stakes races his whole life. He'll win a decent race. He's absolutely grown up and he's become a real racehorse.'
The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
Pier dominates in Wayne Wilson to highlight Stradbroke Handicap missed opportunity
Exciting Kiwi galloper Pier was stranded two spots outside the Group 1 Stradbroke field, but his trainer Darryn Weatherley felt he could have given the race a mighty shake. And on the evidence of the gelding's thumping win when scoring the consolation prize of the Listed Wayne Wilson (1600m) at Eagle Farm, it was hard to disagree. Had five-year-old Pier nailed a Stradbroke start, he would have carried just 51kg. Racenet iQ members get full access to our Pro Tips service, where Greg and our team of professional punters provide daily tips with fully transparent return on investment statistics. SUBSCRIBE NOW and start punting like a pro! Pier's hopes of gaining a slot in the Stradbroke always appeared forlorn, fourth emergency and still two off the field even after there were a pair of scratchings. But punters didn't miss him in the Wayne Wilson, backing him strongly from $3.10 to $2.60 and he didn't let them down as he thumped his opposition by three lengths. Pier's racing journey hasn't been straightforward, from the exhilarating moment of winning the Group 1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas in 2022, to devastating lows of many injury setbacks. Leading Australian owner Ozzie Kheir looks to have another nice horse on his hands. 'I truly believe he would have been a force to be reckoned with in the Straddie, but maybe next year,' Weatherley, who trains in partnership with his daughter Briar, said. 'I would like to spell him here for a month then have a crack at the first Group 1 in New Zealand and the hopefully to Melbourne in the spring.' Pier had warmed up for Saturday's assignment with a flashing light run in the Group 3 BRC Sprint when flashing home from last to finish third. 'Last start he ran a blinder, but he drew a lot more favourably today,' jockey Ethan Brown said. 'It is a bloody long straight but I was on a well prepared, fit horse who carried me through.' In the opening race on Stradbroke day, the Group 3 Gunsynd Classic (1600m), Michael Freedman's three-year-old filly Just Feelin' Lucky ($5) led them a merry dance. The young daughter of US champion Justify wasn't for catching and justified Freedman's decision to give her a shot at a valuable Group race. The filly cost just $80,000 as a yearling but is now worth much more than that and put two wins on the bounce after scoring a midweek race in Sydney at her previous start. 'These Justifys are free-rolling and I had a good chat to Tommy Berry before the race and the idea was to dictate the race from the front and it ended up perfect,' Freedman said. 'It is getting to the back end of the racing season, she's going to turn four pretty soon, so we thought we'd go and have a crack at some black type. 'She's quite a valuable filly now.' ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Floozie lives up to Gollan's wraps Tony Gollan might be turning into Nostradamus as he had a Group 1 prophecy with exciting mare Floozie which is now another step closer to being fulfilled. Queensland's champion trainer has this winter carnival been telling anyone who will listen that Floozie is a star. After her stylish win in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes (1300m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday, she will now be deployed in the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara in a fortnight. Floozie, a four-year-old daughter of Zoustar, was formerly trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr in Victoria and now hasn't been beaten in four starts since arriving at Gollan's Eagle Farm stables. She won some modest Benchmark races at the start of her campaign, but wins in the Silk Stocking and now the Dane Ripper have showcased the talent that Gollan always knew she had. The Group 2 triumph was also the biggest win of young jockey Angela Jones' career and she rode the mare a treat. Gollan is now heading overseas to Royal Ascot, but will have a tantalising treat to come back to as he unleashes Floozie in the Group 1 Tatt's Tiara for fillies and mares at Eagle Farm in a fortnight. 'She is a really good mare this,' Gollan said. 'I said when she won a Benchmark 70 four starts ago that this mare would take part in the winter carnival. 'That's exactly what she is doing. 'Onwards to the Tiara in a fortnight now and I can't wait. 'This mare is going to give that race a hell of a shake and when mares are in form, they can do anything. 'She won on a heavy track on the Gold Coast the other day and it was a firm track here today so she goes good on all surfaces.' Floozie was strongly backed from $6 to $4.60 in the Dane Ripper and her backers barely raised a sweat with Jones having her perfectly positioned before she zoomed for home. 'It is just incredible for this mare to string four together at a tough time of the carnival,' Jones said. 'She is just brilliant. She is a jockey's dream. 'You can just put her where you want her.'
