Off the board in just one of her eight starts, Godolphin’s 4-year-old Brazen Beau mare Zapateo took up where she left off with a strong finishing win in Saturday’s Group III Laurel Oak Toy Show Quality at Randwick.
Sent for a spell after opening her stakes account in the Listed Coolmore Denise’s Joy Stakes at Scone on May 14, the James Cummings-trained mare finished fast under a perfectly timed Rachel King ride to defeat the likeable Headwater mare Jamaea by two and a half lengths with the 4yo Deep Field mare Sky Command a neck back in third.
With her second stakes success Zapateo advances her record to four wins and four seconds from nine starts with earnings of $437,800.
“She’s a lovely mare and looks like she has a big future,” James Cummings said.
“She was not well weighted at all with the compression of the weights.
“She has been flying along in her trackwork, and we were extremely confident. Zapateo is Osborne Bull’s half-sister and a young mare by Brazen Beau, and gee, she looks like she has got lots of upside. And I don’t think she’s done with yet.”
“Rachel did the perfect job from the good gate. She got her to switch off a lot better than she did at Scone.
“If we take her to the Sheraco (Stakes) next, then she will have to step up and get the job done over six furlongs and run it out strongly. But she’s a fast mare and has an impressive turn of foot. When they can slide up on the bridle like that at Randwick, you know you’re cooking with gas.”
Zapateo is the fifth of six foals left by the Lonhro mare Jerezana before her premature death in 2019.
Winner of the Listed Ramornie Handicap, Jerezana proved to be among the elite broodmares at Darley.
All five foals to race from Jerezana have displayed well above average ability.
The high-class Street Cry (IRE) gelding Osborne Bulls lead the way. His nine wins from 20 starts included the Group II VRC TAB Stakes, Listed Regal Roller Stakes and Listed Luskin Star Stakes. He was runner-up in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap, Group 1 All-Aged Stakes, Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes, Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes, and third in The Everest. The son of Street Cry (IRE) contributed $2,871,760 to the Godolphin coffers.
The final foal of Jerezana is the unraced 3yo Street Boss (USA) colt Zaragoza.
Jerezana’s half-sister Patina (Anabaa) is the dam of the Group II Roman Consul Stakes winner Viridine (Poet’s Voice).