Just over an hour after his victory on the horse he regards as the best sprinter in the world, James Mcdonald has scored a win aboard the horse rated Australia’s next middle-distance star.
In a heady afternoon for Sydney’s champion jockey, McDonald guided Nature Strip to an arrogant success in the Concorde Stakes before doing the steering aboard a similarly impressive Zaaki in the Tramway Stakes (1400m).
Both horses are expected to be major players this spring with Nature Strip the nominal Everest favourite and Zaaki the early 2021 Cox Plate elect.
While Nature Strip’s major target is in Sydney, McDonald is praying Victoria opens its borders to NSW to allow him to ride Zaaki in Australia’s weight-for-age championship.
“Anyone could have won on him today. He was electric,” McDonald said.
“He put a good field to shame and did it easily.
“God help us these borders open up. I want to get down there.”
Zaaki stormed into spring calculations with a trio of black-type victories during the winter carnival in Brisbane, starting with the Hollindale Stakes.
McDonald has pinpointed that as a turning point and said it filled Zaaki with new-found confidence.
“I rode him when I got beat on him here (in Sydney). He didn’t give me that same feel that he did up in Queensland. It was like that Hollindale just sparked him,” McDonald said.
“Now he struts around like he owns the joint. He knows he’s King Kong.”
For trainer Annabel Neasham, Zaaki’s winning return was more relief than excitement.
Such is the horse’s profile he started a $2.30 favourite despite having never been placed over 1400 metres.
“I knew he was going well leading into this but just wondered whether 14(1400 metres) would be a bit short of his best,” Neasham said.
“He’s got plenty of improvement left in him and should be in for a really exciting campaign.”
Zaaki strolled up to the leaders topping the rise and bounded clear with McDonald easing him down late to score by 1-1/2 lengths over Aramayo ($41) with the runner-up’s Chris Waller-trained stablemate Star Of The Seas ($11) another 1-1/4 lengths in arrears.
Neasham has not locked in Zaaki’s second-up assignment but the Underwood Stakes in Melbourne is among the options.
Veteran Dreamforce was shooting for his third successive win in the race but failed to feature, finishing seventh.
Jockey Nash Rawiller said he raced below expectations and may have needed the hitout.
“I’ve never walked away from the races disappointed with him before, but I was a bit today,” Rawiller said.
“He’s had a good blow. Maybe he’s not quite where we wanted him.”
