Cambridge Stud-owned sprinting mare Joliestar (Zoustar) proved she is among the best of Australia’s sprinters with an outstanding performance to win Saturday’s A$1.5 million Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington.
A regally-bred daughter of Zoustar, Joliestar was purchased for $950,000 by Brendan and Jo Lindsay at the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale and had already proven herself worthy of that price tag, winning the A$1.5 million Gr.1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) as a three-year-old.
Joliestar’s only other start at three was a victory in the Gr.2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint (1200m), before returning at four to win the Gr.3 Show County Quality (1200m) and earn herself a slot in the A$20 million The Everest. She went on to finish seventh in the Everest and the A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m), and after resuming for third in the Gr.2 Expressway Stakes (1200m) last month, her connections and trainer Chris Waller opted to head to Melbourne for the time-honoured feature.
The decision turned out to be a masterstroke, with Joliestar jumping cleanly from a middle barrier and finding cover behind Espionage in the early stages. The mare had a wall of horses in front of her at the 300m, but class hoop Damian Lane weaved his way through the pack and once she was in the clear, she never looked in doubt, charging clear from Headwall by over a length.
Cambridge Stud’s CEO Henry Plumptre was thrilled with the victory, particularly when reflecting back on the spring period.
“We made a conscious decision to have a look at Melbourne for her,” he said. “We thought about it in the spring and looking at the way she won yesterday, we probably should’ve taken her down there after the Everest for the Champions Sprint (Gr.1, 1200m), instead of staying for the Golden Eagle.
“We kicked her off in Sydney this time around, she ran well enough to suggest she could run really well in a Newmarket. We were a little bit worried about the weight, she carried 56 kilos which is quite a lot of weight for a mare, but she trialled up the straight 10 days before the race and did so very well.
“I think when she’s well and on her game, and she can get the cover that she needs in a race, she can be explosive and that’s pretty much what happened yesterday.
“They ran a very good time and the only question you had at the clock tower was whether she was going to get out, but with a top pilot on board in Damian Lane, she did and she put them away in a matter of metres.”
Following the race, there was some conversation around the possibility of Joliestar travelling to Royal Ascot, but Plumptre indicated that was unlikely.
“It’s a long way to go to Ascot and I’m sure she could run really well there, but it would be difficult to get her back to Australia and have her competitive the following year,” he said.
“By then, she’ll be a six-year-old before you really get her going again. If we keep her between Sydney and Melbourne, there’s so much racing for a good sprinting mare like her.
“She may have another crack at the Everest, and that wouldn’t be possible if we went to Ascot.”
The success has increased Joliestar’s career earnings above A$3.6 million with five victories in 12 starts, a record Plumptre hoped for when Cambridge Stud outlaid nearly seven figures to secure her.
“We had several reasons why we went to $950,000 for her, and that’s based on a ratings system which is pretty accurate,” he said. “The higher the rating, the more likely they are to be good.
“She was a gorgeous type, she was a complete stand-out. Earlier on in 2018, we had missed Probabeel at the sales as underbidders and David Ellis bought her, then we bought her after the sale. She was similar, a great type with great pedigree and a high rating.
“You don’t always get it right, but it’s great when it does happen.”
