Bittersweet Sale of $1.15million Zoustar Filly

Tara Madgwick - Thursday January 12

The only living foal of blue-blood Fastnet Rock mare Alter Call, who sadly died last year, gave Newgate Farm another big result in the sale ring when selling for $1.15million on Thursday.

$1.15 million Zoustar filly from Alter Call - image Grant Courtney

Yet another stunning filly by Zoustar, she was bought by McEvoy Mitchell Racing/Belmont Bloodstock and will join the stable of Tony and Calvin McEvoy to hopefully follow in the footsteps of their former stable star Sunlight, who is also by Zoustar.

“The client who had a red-hot crack at the full sister to Sunlight has decided he wanted to invest in some really good fillies, so after we got knocked out of the ball park yesterday we regrouped  and this was our next best filly. We thought she was a star,” said Damon Gabbedy of Belmont Bloodstock.

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“She just had great attitude, great muscle. I’m describing her as a weapon. She had a huge hindquarter, great forearm and girth and the way she handled herself out the back parade ring and every inspection – just head down and marching along  - is a really good attribute.”

Zoustar has had an incredible sale off the back of outstanding success for his fillies both here with Zougotcha and in Europe where his daughter Lezoo was crowned European Champion 2YO Filly of 2022.

“He (Zoustar) can get a proper one and Tony and Calvin (McEvoy) have had great success and one great thing with this filly, she’s very similarly bred,” Gabbedy added.

“Sunlight was out of Charge Forward out of a Danehill mare, this filly’s grandmother’s by Charge Forward she is out of a daughter of Fastnet Rock (Danehill), so she has all the right patterns to hopefully produce another Sunlight.”

Alter Call was the highest priced filly at MM 2015.

The top priced filly of Magic Millions in 2015, Alter Call was bought from the Newgate draft for $1,050,000 by China Horse Club and had two wins and a stakes placing from just five starts before retiring to stud.

As a half-sister to Golden Slipper winner Estijaab and Group II placed Remarque from dual Group I winner Response, much was expected of Alter Call at stud, but sadly it will now all come down to this lovely Zoustar filly to continue her legacy.

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