Three-year-old out for a three-peat at Ipswich on Thursday.
Zoustrology could sound like an area of science or something in the stars but for the horse himself, it has been good old time and patience to bring on a winning streak.
Jack Bruce has two three-year-olds set to start over the next fews days at both ends of the market with Zoustrology heading to Ipswich on Thursday as an odds-on favourite while Highgrove Rose is a $51 chance to earn his first win at the highest level in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
He is excited for both runners and firstly with Zoustrology, there is the prospect of notching three-in-a-row this preparation in the Great Northern Sprint Series Class 2 Plate (1200m) ridden further forward in running.
“He’s always been quite hard going and we’ve had to ride him quietly a few times to teach him,” Bruce said.
“Once you had the fitness under his belt and a couple of runs back this time in an being ridden in that conservative fashion, it has really taught him to be a racehorse.”
Bruce purchased Zoustrology for $37,500 at the Gold Coast National Yearling Sale in 2024 with the galloper having nearly doubled that amount in prizemoney.
The gelding took six starts to break the maiden status with a record that now sits at two wins and four placings in seven starts with the latest two winning runs over the Ipswich 1100m.
“He is most definitely better when he is allowed to stride forward and he can do that now with a bit of maturity,” Bruce added.
“He would have gone too hard before and it has taken a bit of effort. He is a big, strong Zoustar – too big for his own good in the early days – and went shin sore. His preparations since have been good and he’s humming.”
While Zoustrology may an anchor for many punters on Thursday, Highgrove Rose has had to earn her spot in the Oaks the harder way through with a win on the Gold Coast Polytrack on May 16 followed by a second placing over 2200m at Doomben eight days ago.
“We bought both horses as yearlings so it is really good to have them both hitting their straps,” he said.
“We had to take the lowroad to get there but it is great to have a filly in the group one.”
Ben Thompson rides Zoustrology from barrier three which Bruce sees as a positive while Rachel King takes the ride on Highgrove Rose.
