Kiwi Bred Le Zebra Scores at Flemington

Media Release - Saturday July 20

Talented New Zealand-bred gelding Le Zebra turned his form around in style at Flemington on Saturday with a runaway victory in the A$150,000 VRC Member Michael Murphy Trophy (1700m).

Le Zebra was back at his winning best at Flemington on Saturday. Photo: Grant Courtney

The grey son of Rip Van Winkle showed real promise as a two-year-old, collecting victories at Sandown and Flemington in a four-start campaign last year. But his form fell away in the early stages of his three-year-old season, finishing seventh in the Gr.3 McNeil Stakes (1200m), 15th in the Listed Exford Plate (1400m), eighth in a 1400m handicap at Flemington and 10th in a 1600m handicap at the same venue.

A close last-start fourth in the Silver Bowl Series Final (1600m) on July 6 hinted at a turnaround for Le Zebra, and on Saturday he was right back on top of his game.

Ridden by Damian Lane for expat Kiwi trainers Emma-Lee and David Browne, Le Zebra was awkwardly drawn in gate 12 among a 14-horse field. But Lane pressed forward in the early stages of the race and was able to easily slot into a perfect position one out and one back.

Advertisement

It was smooth sailing from there, and when Lane released the brakes in the home straight, Le Zebra bounded to the lead and raced away to win by five lengths with his ears pricked.

“Emma-Lee and David have done a great job,” Lane said. “I trialled him early in the preparation and his performance was only fair, and then he raced accordingly. They’ve done really well to turn him around in this preparation and get him winning like that here at Flemington today.

“The race worked out really well. Being drawn wide, I thought there was no sense in dropping all the way back. I chanced the arm and tried to get in, and fortunately that eventuated. I was very confident from there. He was always travelling comfortably and I knew I could get into the race when I wanted to. He finished it off really strongly.”

Le Zebra has now had 10 starts for three wins and a placing, earning A$286,000 for a big group of owners. An enthusiastic contingent of them were on course at Flemington on Saturday, some wearing large zebra heads.

“We’ve got a brilliant ownership group involved with this horse,” Emma-Lee Browne said. “They’ve had to be very, very patient and they’ve stuck it out through some ups and downs. It’s just fantastic to see the horse back doing what he should be doing.

“David rides him every day and has done a huge amount of work to try to get him to settle better and do things right. It’s been a real team effort.

“Damian gave him a beautiful ride to get into that spot, and he won very well. We’re over the moon.

“We’ll just take him home now and look after him, and hopefully we can keep him going into the spring.”

Le Zebra is out of the My Halo mare Angel Del Dinero, who herself was a winner and finished second in the Gr.3 Desert Gold Stakes (1600m) at Trentham.

Le Zebra is the fourth winner from five foals to race out of Angel Del Dinero, who is also the dam of the Brownes’ four-race winner Bifrost, a son of Turn Me Loose. The Brownes bought Bifrost for $40,000 at Karaka 2020, followed by the $60,000 purchase of his half-brother Le Zebra two years later from the draft of Windsor Park Stud.

Adding to their investment in the family, the Brownes secured Angel Del Dinero for $26,000 in an online auction on gavelhouse.com. – NZ Racing Desk.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Saturday December 21
Here is the full list of 95 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Zoustar Mare Wins for Te Akau - Half-Brother for K1
Consistent sprinting mare Egyptian Queen was rewarded for a string of solid performances at Te Rapa on Saturday, powering away with the Lodge Real Estate 1200.
Is He the Next Via Sistina or Buckaroo?
The Fastnet Rock x Galileo cross is a formidable one and has produced this spring’s elite Group I winners Via Sistina (IRE) and Buckaroo (GB) with another lightly raced import bred the same way in Gilded Water (GB) going two for two in Australia with a cavalier win at Randwick on Saturday.
Another Stakes Win For This Burly Enigma - Leave The Whip At Home
Enigmatic is a word often bandied about in racing but it certainly sits well upon the ample shoulders of Cannonball, a big odds winner of the Listed Magic Millions Falvelon at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Arriving Home Goes Two for Two – Three-Quarter Brother for MM 2025
Talented I Am Invincible filly Arriving Home does her best work on the line and we saw it when she scored on debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month and again when she got there in the last stride to win at Randwick on Saturday.
No Shock in Supernova
The good times keep on rolling for connections of winning machine Here To Shock(NZ) (Shocking) who plundered the inaugural A$1 million Supernova at Pakenham over his favoured 1400m distance for trainers Ben, Will and JD Hayes.
Four MM Lead Ups for Icarian Dream - what are the stats?
Two-year-old filly Icarian Dream’s win in the B.J. McLachlan Stakes at Eagle Farm on Saturday will see her head into the Magic Millions 2YO Classic having had four starts before year’s end, which might seem a lot in this day and age – but is it? We’ve had a look.
First Stakes success for Savabeel's Gold Bullion
Four-year-old gelding Gold Bullion dug deep to stave off all challengers when leading throughout to land the Listed Seven Members Mile (1600m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday for trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
G1 Possible Goal for Le Zebra (NZ)
Smart two-year-old Le Zebra will be considered for a tilt at the Gr.1 JJ Atkins (1600m) at Eagle Farm on June 10 after another strong on-speed metropolitan victory when scoring over 1400m at Flemington on Saturday.
Stakes Racing Catalogue Updates Last Week
A dozen stakes updates in the past week into catalogues for yearlings coming up.