Group 1-winning partnership Ellerton and Zahra to go their separate ways
Victorian owner-breeder David Moodie will side with Mathew Ellerton and leave his large racing team in the care of the Flemington-based trainer when he and Simon Zahra end their long and successful partnership later this year.
The trainers yesterday announced that they would go their separate ways after more than two decades of working together despite seemingly enjoying a strong start to the season including a stakes-winning double at Caulfield last week and Group 1 victory earlier in the year.
The news may have come as a shock to some of Ellerton Zahra Racing’s clients but there has been murmurs behind the scenes for a number of weeks about the pending dissolution of the training partnership, which is set to come into effect on December 1.
“After over 20 years together and a lot of hard work to build the EZR brand I’d like to wish Simon all the best in his new endeavour, I couldn’t have done it without him,” Ellerton said in a statement.
“We’ve been through a lot of highs throughout the journey and long may it continue for us both.
“I’d also like to thank our ownership group and our loyal staff who have put in so much over so many years.”
Zahra added: “It’s with a heavy heart that Mat and I after 22 years have agreed to go our own way to further our training careers. I’m very proud of our success and the team we created together at EZR. On the back of that I am excited as to what the future brings and success for owners.”
The pair prepared Kiki Express (Sepoy) to win the Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) and Dirty Thoughts (So You Think) to land the Northwood Plume (Gr 3, 1200m) at Caulfield last Saturday and they have their Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Zoutori (Zoustar) in the Moonga Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) and the Moodie-owned General Beau (Brazen Beau) in the Caulfield Sprint (Gr 2, 1000m) today.
Moodie, who is also a partner in the Ellerton Zahra Racing training business, confirmed that Ellerton would take sole charge of his horses when the break-up comes to fruition.
Ellerton has worked for Moodie since the mid-1990s and they enjoyed Group 1 success in 2000 with sprinter-miler Black Bean (Raami) and have had a steady stream of high-class horses since then including dual Group 1 winner Casual Pass (Snippets) in the early to mid-2000s.
“The horses that Contract Racing and Hesket (Bloodstock) are involved in will end up with Mathew if this reaches its conclusion, which it should. There is still a bit of water to flow under the bridge yet (such as organising stabling),” Moodie said.
“It is important to note that it is business as usual until the first of December and then they will go their own ways, which hopefully will be a positive for both of them.”
Syndicator First Light Racing, who won the 2018 Wakeful Stakes (Gr 2, 2000m) and VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) double with the Ellerton and Zahra-trained Aristia (Lonhro), has vowed to support both trainers when they start operating their independent stables.
“We have had a great association with them for ten-plus years, so we want to support both of them,” First Light’s Tim Wilson said.
“Obviously the boys are going to continue training together until December 1, so we have got six weeks to work closely with them to determine who is best suited for each horse.
“I have had preliminary chats with them, but they’ve got a lot going on themselves, so we will just use the time we’ve got to map the right path.
“They have both been great trainers in partnership and they have been great trainers in isolation before, so I am confident there will be limited disruption and in the next six weeks we’ll plot the right path.”
Training from Flemington, Ellerton and Zahra had expanded the number of horses they had in work by taking on the stables previously occupied by Leon and Troy Corstens after they moved into the on-course complex previously used by the now Ballarat-based Tony and Calvin McEvoy.
Zahra could end up taking on those boxes with Ellerton remaining in EZR’s main, larger on-course complex.
Last year, prolific owner Moodie, a former Racing Victoria chairman, brought his racing team back under one umbrella to be trained by Ellerton and Zahra rather than spreading them around to various stables as he’d done for a number of years.
In more recent times Moodie’s Contract Racing and Hesket Bloodstock signed a deal with the US-owned Spendthrift Australia to sell a 20 per cent share in 26 yearlings for them to syndicate through its Myracehorse.com business.
They will be trained by Ellerton but Moodie has no affiliation with Myracehorse other than sharing in the ownership of the horses he bred and sold down a portion of.
Ellerton and Zahra, who are first cousins, officially formed a training partnership in March 2010 with their first runner Cool Diva (Ice Point) winning at Sandown and, little more than three weeks later, the pair won the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) with brilliant filly Crystal Lily (Stratum).
Together, they have won 837 races, six of them at Group 1 level, Zoutori the most recent to fly the flag at the highest level for the stable.
Zahra briefly trained in his own right in 2008 and 2009, while being an assistant to Ellerton, during a stint in which he prepared talented sprinter Let Go Thommo (Laranto) to win the 2008 Carlyon Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) and the following year’s Bletchingly Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).