Zoutori well-backed to score another win at Flemington
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24 Apr Zoutori well-backed to score another win at Flemington

Posted at 04:28h in Racing by

Zoutori (Zoustar x Atotori) has been well-backed to score a second straight win at Thursday’s Anzac Day meeting at Flemington.

The Mathew Ellerton and Simon Zahra-trained Zoutori, who was sold through Amarina Farm’s 2017 Inglis Easter draft, will contest the Auckland Racing Club Trophy (1400m).

Zoutori was a dominant first-up winner at Pakenham last time out and has drawn barrier seven for his second-up assignment. Craig Williams has the ride on the promising galloper.

The gelding returns to Flemington for the first time since his solid fifth to Ranier in the Gr.3 Carbine Stakes (1600m), which followed an unlucky fourth in the Listed Gothic Stakes on Caulfield Cup day.

Zahra said Zoutori has returned a much-improved performer for the second half of his three-year-old season.

“He’s a completely different horse. He looks better, stronger and he’s mentally tougher,” Zahra said.

“We’ve always thought he was going to be a good three-year-old and four-year-old and he’s developed into a pretty imposing horse when you see him in the flesh.

“He’s a big horse, dark and has eye-catching markings. He’s a terrific type these days.

“He should have probably won a stakes race at Caulfield when a riderless horse was all over him and got him beaten.”

Zoutori steps up from Benchmark 70 grade to open three-year-old company but Zahra said the $135,000 race looked a winnable option for him on his way to tougher assignments later in his campaign.

Zahra said a trip to Brisbane was a possibility for Zoutori if the horse continued his rate of development.

“He’s been going really well since the Pakenham race and he had a great gallop at Flemington on Saturday morning,” Zahra said.

“If we don’t run out of time, the Queensland Derby won’t be out of reach I reckon. I think he can get the mile-and-a-half so we’ll keep going up in trip and see how far he gets.

“I think it’s just a matter of the further he goes the better and you don’t have to be a superstar to win a Queensland Derby.” -Racenet.com.au