Unbeaten filly Zourion has Victorian features on her spring agenda.Henry Plumptre has a wide brief in his role as Cambridge Stud CEO, but there’s no disguising his enthusiasm as new season plans come together for racehorses carrying Brendan and Jo Lindsay’s gold and black colours.
Fresh from million-dollar filly Joliestar’s debut win in Sydney on Monday, Plumptre sat down with RaceForm to run through the wide choice awaiting the Cambridge Stud racing string.
“We’ve had another big season with our racing team here and in Australia and it was great to see that filly step up like she did,” Plumptre said. “She wasn’t cheap at $950,000 in Sydney, but if you want to get hold of those fillies with the big pedigrees, that’s what you have to pay.
“Fillies like her are the future to add to the mix at Cambridge Stud, it’s what you have to do. Stumping up that sort of money won’t be forever, but it’s necessary if you want to be a serious player in this game.”
Joliestar, by Zoustar from a sister to Fastnet Rock’s dual hemisphere Group One winner Merchant Navy, is trained by Chris Waller. Off the back of a trial win, she lined up as the second favourite in a two-year-old 1200m at Warwick Farm and dug deep when challenged by the favourite Kitty Chat and wouldn’t be denied. It was the performance of a young horse with natural ability but with it all still in front of her.
“She’s quite a big filly that has needed patient handling but it was great to see her do that,” Plumptre said. “She can have five weeks off now, that will give her wither the chance to catch up with her back end.
“Whether she will be up for the good races in the spring, we’ll be guided by Chris on that, but if we have to wait until late summer-autumn, so be it. Races like the Surround Stakes in Sydney next autumn are worth waiting for.”
Melbourne in the spring is on the agenda of another of Cambridge’s Zoustar fillies, the Mark Walker-trained Zourion. During the summer she won her only trial and remained unbeaten with raceday wins at Taupo and the country’s premier two-year-old fillies’ event, the Gr. 2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes.
“Mark and his team did a very good job to get her over the line in the Breeders’ Stakes and we were quite happy to tip her out. She’s had a nice long spell on our Karaka farm and has just gone back into the stable.
“She’ll go through her early paces at Matamata and once the new Te Akau stable at Cranbourne is up and running she’ll go over. We still have to see how she measures up, but a race like the 1000 Guineas at Caulfield, which is a month or so later this year, would be a decent target.”
Cambridge Stud’s private trainer Lance Noble had a fruitful season with 19 wins from less than 100 starters and is gearing up for the new season with a mix of proven and unknown talent.
“Our Embellish filly Luberon did enough winning and stakes-placing before she needed some time out,” Plumptre said. “She came back into work last week and looks amazing.
“She was always going to be better with time and now that she’s had a decent break we can hopefully plan towards the spring filly features. If we were looking for a filly to send to Riccarton (for the NZ 1000 Guineas) she would be one to fit that plan.”
Noble’s Gr. 2 Avondale Cup winner and Auckland Cup fourth Aquacade won’t be hurried back, with the preference for Christmas staying features heading into autumn. Habana, another by Zoustar, kept raising the bar through the season to win four from seven and sign off with a game second in the Gr. 2 Easter Handicap.
“He kept surprising us, which was great,” says Plumptre. “We don’t see why he can’t keep improving, he’s that sort of genuine gelding that’s so much fun to race.
“Polygon did a very good job through the summer with two Group wins, but Sydney was a bridge too far with things not working out for her. Heading into spring with a filly like her we might prefer to just let her find her way and look towards Christmas.
“We’ve got plenty of irons in the fire here and across in Australia, and quite a number of good younger types among them. What’s the old saying, hope spring eternal? I think that fits very well right now!”
