Spring is in the air and fast horses are emerging from the winter shadows all over the countryside, with Zou Tiger the latest to do so at Randwick on Wednesday. After being handled with care as a 2 year old (only given a couple of seasoning runs on heavy ground), the Zoustar colt returned to the track a more furnished proposition and easily handled a midweek maiden when sprinting clear to win by 3.65 lengths.
James McDonald removed luck from the equation in the early stages of the race, making use of the colt’s gate speed to lead the field at a steady tempo. Once he pushed the button on straightening the race was over in a matter of strides, with one crack of the whip all that was required to ensure the name Zou Tiger was on the lips of all good judges after the race was run.
Purchased from the Inglis Classic Yearling sale of 2021 for $200,000 and running in the famous Finemore colours, his victory has continued the stable’s strong run of form to commence the season, with 4 Metropolitan winners from 16 runners having the stable positioned 3rd in the premiership just over three weeks into the new season.
A strong contingent of owners were on course to celebrate the victory, and they have a lot to look forward to over the coming months with his next run likely to take place in the G3 Ming Dynasty over 1400m at Rosehill on the 10th of September before re-assessing where he fits into the 3 year old picture.
Congratulations to all his owners: Finemore Thoroughbreds, Widden Stud Pty Ltd, Boeara Holdings, Mrs C A Richards, Miss E A Bertoli, Mr D E Shaw, Team Berg, Mr R J Miller, Mr G M Carr, Mr R Chattah, Mrs L A Rushton, Mr T St James, Mrs N M Pitt, Mrs R A Miller
