In-form mare aims to continue the Zoustar party
Widden flagbearer out to build on his brilliant 2023-24 season
Fresh from his record-equalling exploits, Zoustar (Northern Meteor) will bid to build some new season momentum when his speedy daughter Right To Party shoots for her third successive win in Saturday’s Aurie’s Star Handicap (Gr 3, 1200m) at Flemington.
Widden Stud’s flagbearer matched I Am Invincible’s (Invincible Spirit) 208 winners in a single season, a tally which included 17 individual black type victors with Right To Party contributing his most recent stakes success courtesy of her dominant victory in last month’s Creswick Sprint Series Final (Listed, 1200m).
The 1.3-length triumph brought up back-to-back wins down the famous Flemington straight, and the mare will get her chance to complete a home track hat-trick this weekend.
Having been slow out of the gates and then held up behind a wall of horses in the Creswick Sprint, Right To Party – a homebred who races in Jonathan Munz’s distinctive red and white Pinecliff Racing colours – produced the fastest last 200 metres of the day under in-form jockey Jye McNeil.
The 2020 Melbourne Cup (Gr. 1, 3200m)-winning rider jumps back aboard on Saturday, when a fourth career win would carry Right To Party’s prize–money earnings past the $400,000 mark.
A change of training methods has been the key to unlocking her latent talent, according to the grey mare’s co-trainer Sam Freedman.
“We decided to take a less is more approach with her this prep,” Sam Freedman, who trains in partnership with his father Anthony, said.
“I think it’s the right formula for her, we’ve been spacing out her runs so that she’s been kept on the fresh side, which seems to be working. We probably trained her too hard in the past, which might have taken away her finish. She showed a killer punch last time after being held up, so hopefully we see that again at Flemington on Saturday.
“It won’t be an easy task, she’s not particularly well-weighted and a mare hasn’t won the race for a long time, so history is definitely against her. But she’s obviously in great form and she loves the Flemington straight, so we’re expecting her to perform well again plus it’s a fairly small field so hopefully she won’t encounter the same traffic issues she faced last time.
“Jye knows her well so we’ll leave it up to him, but I’d say he’ll give her a quiet ride off the speed and save up her energy for the finish again.”
Connections will shelve a decision on any future plans until after Saturday, but given her progression this prep, Team Freedman won’t be afraid to throw her in at the deep end during the spring.
“We’re obviously still in the off-season, so even though she’s been flying it’s difficult to get a gauge on where she might measure up when all the topline sprinters come back,” said Freedman Jnr.
“We’ll look to keep stepping her through the grades, and if she can win well on Saturday then we’d certainly entertain testing her out at Group 2 level or even higher in the future. She’s been a different mare this prep, so if she keeps showing the same levels of improvement then there’s no reason why we wouldn’t aim fairly high with her.”
Right To Party’s varied routine this campaign has included some dressage work, which Freedman believes has led to a refreshed mindset for a mare who on occasion in the past has been somewhat hot-headed.
“The dressage work gets her off the property and gives her a change of environment, which is good for her mentally and physically,” he said.
“She’s not a mare that needs a lot of work between runs, but the dressage allows us to extend her prep and it’s keeping her nice and sound. She really enjoys it and we all know that happy and healthy horses perform better on raceday, so hopefully we can reap the rewards again at Flemington on Saturday.”
Right To Party is one of two Zoustars in the field, with her fellow stakes winner The Astrologist also lining up in the feature $200,000 contest.
Flemington was of course the scene of Zoustar’s crowning achievement in 2013, when he flashed down the straight to take out the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) for Chris Waller.
He was retired to stud six months later, since when his reputation – and a service fee which currently stands at $275,000 (including GST) – has grown exponentially.
Widden Stud’s owner and proprietor, Antony Thompson, said the farm was justifiably proud of his achievements.
“One more winner would have been nice but he’s had an incredible season, and he keeps raising the bar year on year,” said Thompson.
“To have 364 wins in a season is quite remarkable, and on top of that he’s the leading sire of Group 1 winners and the leading sire of stakes winners, which are amazing feats in themselves. Every year he’s had more winners and increased his prize–money earnings, and there aren’t many stallions who can claim that. It’s been an amazing journey, and he’s not finished yet.
“We’re trying to limit his book so he’ll serve around 170 mares this season. We feel his record and the sales season he’s had justifies his service fee, there’s been enormous demand for him so we probably could have gone even higher but out of respect for I Am Invincible, we didn’t want his fee to exceed his.
“He’s one of the easiest stallions I’ve ever worked with, he’s lovely and kind but if you ask him to do something he doesn’t want to do, he’ll let you know in the nicest possible way. It’s the first year he hasn’t shuttled for five years, but we felt the time was right to give him a break. He’s really enjoyed his time at home in the paddock and he’s looking and feeling really well, which bodes well for the upcoming season.”