Zousain retired, to stand at Widden in 2020
Zousain, the first ever foal from Widden Stud’s leading young stallion Zoustar (Northern Meteor), will join his sire on the farm’s roster after the four-year-old’s retirement was announced yesterday.
A Group 2-winning juvenile, taking the Champagne Classic (Gr 2, 1200m) at Doomben before finishing second to The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) in the J J Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m), Zousain’s two-year-old record is reminiscent of his sire, with Zoustar winning the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) before also finishing runner-up in the J J Atkins.
Widden Stud bought into the Qatar Racing-owned Zousain before he resumed at three and watched on as the colt came so close to breaking through for that elusive Group 1 win during his spring campaign, finishing a long head behind The Autumn Sun in the Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) and the same margin behind Sunlight (Zoustar) in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (registered as Ascot Vale Stakes) (Gr 1, 1200m).
“Both were trained by Chris Waller and his race record mirrors that of his own sire,” Widden Stud principal Antony Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday. “They had identical records at two and he was so close to that Group 1 win, just a long head off the winner in the Coolmore and Golden Rose at three to Sunlight and The Autumn Sun respectively. That was agonising.”
He returned with a good run to begin his autumn three-year-old campaign, flashing home for second in the Zeditave Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m), but he only graced the racetrack three more times throughout 2019, finishing unplaced on each occasion.
After switching to the Anthony Freedman stable for an autumn campaign, he trialled once at Cranbourne but was retired without stepping out for his new yard.
For Thompson, Zousain was on his watch list long before any ownership deal was completed, as something of a carbon copy of his sire. Offered by Edinglassie Stud at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, he was purchased for $400,000 to the bid of David Redvers and Mulcaster Bloodstock.
“He is a colt that has always been on our radar,” Thompson said. “He was a standout yearling and when David Redvers purchased him with Guy Mulcaster and Chris Waller he was a colt we followed very closely. He is physically an outstanding type very much in the mould of Zoustar and Northern Meteor with that same remarkable calm temperament.”
Fees for Zousain and the rest of the Widden Stud roster will be announced in the coming weeks.