3YO enhances Derby prospects
15 Jan 2016Zambezi Warrior took an impressive step toward the Gr 1 New Zealand Derby on his home course this afternoon.
Trained by Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards, he produced a stylish finish to open his account over 1600 metres at Matamata.
The three-year-old came from the back of the field with a storming finish in the hands of stable jockey Matt Cameron.
“I thought he had left his run too late, but he showed that turn of foot we all like to see,” Autridge said.
“He’ll be stepping up to 2000 metres next and whether it’s in the Waikato Guineas we’ll see, but that’s the sort of race he’ll be in very shortly.”
Bred by the Fell family, he was sold through Goodwood Stud’s 2014 Premier Sale draft to Te Akau principal David Ellis for $75,000.
Zambezi Warrior is a son of Pentire and the winning Zabeel mare Zambezi, a daughter of the multiple Group One winner Tall Poppy.