It is a more than a little unusual to see a feature race in Melbourne with Queenslanders so well represented, but that is exactly what the Group 2 McEwen Stakes will serve up at Moonee Valley on Saturday with Queensland stables sending out two of the seven runners in the form of Zoustyle and Rothfire.
Brisbane’s multiple premiership winning trainer Tony Gollan has the well performed seven-year-old gelding Zoustyle engaged in the McEwen, one of no less than six runners resuming in the race, and he is very happy with his George Moore Stakes winner.
“He is going really well. He has come back super,” said Gollan of Zoustyle, who was last seen in action when unplaced behind Mazu in the Doomben 10000 back on May 14.
“With just the way the weather was over the winter, we backed off him and got him ready for this target race.
“In his trials he has been back to his scintillating best.
“He had a look around Moonee Valley on Tuesday. Obviously, it was too wet for him … so it was just about going there for the experience.
“He is very fit and very well.
‘He is a real 1000m horse,” (the McEwen Stakes distance), continued Gollan. “He gets 1200m at Doomben on those summer tracks, but on testing ground he doesn’t run it as well … so we really pigeon-hole him as an older horse now where we can keep him at that 1000m and space his runs.
“It is only a small field on Saturday, but it is obviously full of quality … and, if he can measure up, then we can think about the Moir in two weeks time. )The Moir Stakes is a $1 million race).
“I’m really happy where Zoustyle is at the moment. I’ve taken him to Melbourne once before and he is certainly a much better horse this time around.
“He is a bigger, stronger animal. He has settled perfectly back into Flemington. He knows he has been there.
“We just need better weather towards Saturday, and they’ll see a much better version of Zoustyle then they have seen before on the weekend.”
Zoustyle brings a proud record of nine wins from sixteen starts into the race and has won multiple times on both good and soft going.
He currently sits on the third line of betting at $6.50 behind the hot favourite Coolangatta ($2.25) and In The Congo ($5.50).
