Outstanding mare Joliestar (Zoustar) secured a third career Gr1 win with a staggering come-from-behind victory in Saturday’s Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm.
Joliestar (James McDonald) secured a third career Gr1 on Saturday (Pic – Inglis)
On a day when making up ground from back in the field proved exceptionally difficult, Joliestar looked destined to finish in the minor placings at best with jockey James McDonald in a seemingly impossible position halfway up the home straight.
But the 4YO mare – already a winner of the Gr1 Thousand Guineas and Gr1 Newmarket Hcp prior to today – produced a stunning final sectional to run down race leader and Inglis Digital graduate Zarastro in the final stride, setting up an Inglis graduates Gr1 quinella.
The win also gave trainer Chris Waller a record 19th Gr1 for the Australian season.
Cambridge Stud’s Sir Brendan Lindsay, who just this week received a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the King’s Birthday Honours for his services to business and philanthropy, bought Joliestar for A$950,000 at the Easter Yearling Sale, where she was offered by Segenhoe Stud on behalf of her breeders Chris and Jane Barham.
Lindsay was trackside and couldn’t believe what he witnessed.
“What a performance! That really was something special today,’’ Lindsay said. “I didn’t know we’d won, I actually thought we’d got beat to be honest but she just dug in late and got there.
“James McDonald said to us after the race that we were no chance turning for home, you just couldn’t come from back there today but she just wanted it and when she sets her mind to a task, she gets the job done.
“She’s just such a quality mare, she doesn’t know how to run a bad race.’’
Joliestar has now won six of her 15 career starts for A$4.5m in prizemoney.
Winning trainer Waller added: “It’s been hard to run the leaders down today but we discussed pre-race that we can’t change our racing pattern and James did a great job to get her home.
“She was off the bridle at the 500m but to her credit she just kept coming.
“She’s a pleasure to be training. The Gold Coast staff at the stables call her the queen and she was the queen of Queensland today. She’s a lovely horse with a great record, she did it at three, she’s won a Newmarket and had a lot of bad luck along the way.’’
Saturday’s Kingsford Smith Cup will be Joliestar’s sole run this preparation. She will now spell and return for a spring campaign which is likely to include the Gr1 $20m The Everest at Randwick on October 18.
Earlier on the Eagle Farm program the 4YO Transatlantic (Snitzel) scored a sixth career win at just start No.16 with victory in the Listed Spear Chief Handicap.
Trainer Tony Gollan – who teamed up with John Foote and Harbour Equine to buy Transatlantic for A$360,000 from Segenhoe’s draft at the 2022 Easter Yearling Sale – hopes the win will lead to a weight penalty sufficient to get the horse into next week’s Gr1 Stradbroke Hcp.
Should he make the field, Transatlantic will be joined by another Inglis graduate in the shape of 3YO filly Spicy Martini (Justify), who, on Wednesday, won the rescheduled Gr3 Fred Best Classic over 1350m at Doomben.
The Toby Edmonds and Stephen McLean trainee was winning her third Stakes race and first at Group level having been bought for just A$8000 when offered as a yearling by Coolmore through the Inglis Digital March (Early) Online Sale in 2023.
The Stradbroke field will be finalised Tuesday.
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