'Chris is always looking for an angle and somewhere his clients can benefit'

The strength of Chris Waller’s association with his dual Group 1-winning racehorse Zoustar has resulted in the champion trainer looking to the other side of the world to source his best progeny, coming away with a filly by the stallion during Thursday’s final session of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Waller, who trained the Qatar Racing-owned Zoustar to wins in the Coolmore Stud Stakes and Golden Rose Stakes in the spring of 2013, has prepared some of the stallion’s best Australian-bred produce to date, but, despite the wealth of Zoustar offspring on offer in the domestic market, parted with 120,000gns to secure the rich European pedigree of this daughter of the Widden Stud shuttle sire.

Agent John Ferguson signed the docket, with the filly set to be trained in the UK by Ferguson’s son James, before heading to Australia during her three-year-old year.

“[Chris] has always supported Zoustar and always had interest from his owners in the stallion,” Ferguson told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“She has a lovely pedigree behind her and it just makes sense. Chris is always looking for an angle and somewhere his clients can benefit, and this was an obvious case.”

Waller trained Zoustar’s fifth individual Group 1 winner last Saturday, when claiming the Flight Stakes at Randwick, through the Noel Greenhalgh-owned Zougotcha, who secured her third win of spring racing’s Darley Princess Series in Sydney.

The trainer is also responsible for six of the stallion’s eight Group 2 winners in Australia, and moved for the Hillwood Stud-offered filly from the stallion’s second northern hemisphere-bred crop just a fortnight after Zoustar sired a first Group 1 winner in Europe through Cheveley Park Stakes winner Lezoo.

The filly is out of the Excelebration mare Coral Sea, a dual winner at three and dam of a winning juvenile filly by Zoustar in Just Janet. Her second dam is the dual Group 3 winner Tropical Paradise, herself a half-sister to three stakes winners, including Flying Childers Stakes scorer Ubettabelieveit.

The purchase continues what has so far been a successful venture for Waller, John Ferguson and young trainer James, who have targeted northern hemisphere yearlings to campaign in Europe before sending them south to vie for Australia’s riches once they come of age as southern hemisphere four-year-olds.

John Ferguson: '[Chris] has always supported Zoustar and always had interest from his owners in the stallion'Credit: Laura Green

Among the early triumphs is Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner El Bodegon, who is currently in quarantine ahead of a move to Australia to contest the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley later this month.

The son of Kodiac was a 70,000gns buy for James Ferguson from Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2020, while Waller now also trains last Saturday’s Bart Cummings runner-up Francisco Guardi - a 200,000gns buy for Amanda Skiffington a year earlier - who contested the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot under the care of Ferguson before heading down under.

Europe’s premier summer racing festival, where the Waller-trained Nature Strip romped home in the King’s Stand Stakes in June this year, continues to hold considerable sway for Australian buyers looking to invest in northern hemisphere yearlings.

“Waller’s had horses prepped in Europe, like El Bodegon, and others with James,” said Ferguson. “This filly will likely stay here as a two-year-old and after Royal Ascot of her three-year-old career will go down to Australia.”

The trio will seek to replicate the success with four-year-old gelding El Bodegon after striking on the opening day of this year’s Tattersalls Book 1 sale to purchase a son of Sea The Stars for 200,000gns.

Catalogued as Lot 63, the Baroda Stud-consigned colt is out of Irish Group 3 winner Miss Katie Mae, herself a half-sister to stakes winners Eastern Impact and Summerghand and from the family of the late champion Japanese stallion Deep Impact.

His future will also ultimately lie at Waller's Sydney-based stable, but not before targeting European and Royal Ascot success.

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