Unbeaten Queensland speedster Zoustyle will be given his toughest test to date when he resumes in the Group 3 $160,000 Concorde Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on September 7.
Trainer Tony Gollan, above, will set Zoustyle on a Sydney Spring Carnival campaign. Photo by Daniel Costello.
The front running Zoustyle made it six wins from six starts with an all the way victory in the $105,000 JRS 3yo Plate (1200m) at Doomben on May 18 and trainer Tony Gollan was all set to test the then three year old against the older horses during the 2019 Brisbane Winter Carnival but the premiership winning trainer had to cut short his Winter plans after the Zoustar gelding contracted a virus and had to be sent to the paddock for a break.
Zoustyle returned to work in good shape and showed today that he is back on track with a nine length barrier trial win over 840m at Doomben.
“He’s in pretty good shape and he went around really nicely,” Gollan told racing.com.
“It’s (Concorde) going to be a very good race. It’s a pretty obvious kick-off for horses this way of going and being a Group 3 set-weights-and-penalties race, it’s a nice race for us under those conditions but obviously we are going to run into some Group 1 horses.
“The 1000 metres at Randwick holds no worries for me and it’s just a matter of whether he is good enough.”
“It could be The Shorts a fortnight later. Those are the only two races that we’ve planned and then it’s a matter of where we shape up against those sort of horses.
Gollan is looking towards a second up run for Zoustyle in the Group 2 $500,000 The Shorts (1100m) at Randwick on September 21.
A possible trip to Melbourne is then on the cards to chase a slot in $14m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick on October 19 by winning the Group 2 $400,000 Keno Schillaci Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on October 12.
“The Concorde is obviously going to be a very watched race and we are certainly going to know where we are after the 7th of September,” Gollan said.
“There is definitely an option to go to Melbourne. We certainly have an eye towards Melbourne.”
Zoustyle has been included in the betting for The Everest at Ladbrokes.com.au and is marked as a $21 chance while the Anthony Freedman trained Santa Ana Lane heads the market order at $5.
Early betting for the 2019 The Everest at Ladbrokes.com.au: $5 Santa Ana Lane, $7 Osborne Bulls, $8 Arcadia Queen, Pierata, $9 Sunlight, $10 Classique Legend, $11 Redzel, $13 Alizee, In Her Time, $15 Brutal, Enticing Star, Ten Sovereigns, $17 Yes Yes Yes, Graff, $21 Hot King Prawn, Zoustyle, Nature Strip, $26 Advertise, The Bostonian, $34 Vega Magic, Zousain, $41 or better the rest.
