Champion trainer Chris Waller has a knack with a good Zoustar filly, think Zougotcha, Kiku, Haut Brion Her and Madam Rouge and we can add Olentia to the list after she posted her first ever Black Type win in the $200,000 Group III ATC James HB Carr Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Sporting the Star Thoroughbreds colours, three year-old Olentia was stepping up sharply in grade following three wins from four starts in much easier company and rose to the challenge.
Ridden by Joao Moreira, she travelled sweetly on the fence and enjoyed a perfect run in transit to work home and win by half a length over Godolphin runner Portray with the race favourite Magic Time finishing in third place when tasting defeat for the first time.
Star Thoroughbreds and Chris Waller won the same race last year with Espiona, who recently won the Group I ATC Coolmore Classic, so Olentia has some big footsteps to follow.
“This filly has a story to tell as she was just going through the motions, so we sent her up to out Gold Coast base and Lofty (Brett Killion) and the team up there did a great job and really made her look quite special,” Chris Waller said.
“We plucked her back down to Sydney and her first up run was a win and then a much better performance today in a much stronger race.
“She’s a well bred filly and this is just the start, the autumn for a lot of young horses.”
A $310,000 Magic Millions purchase for Star Thoroughbreds/Randwick Bloodstock Agency P/L from the Tyreel Stud draft, Olentia has the overall record of four wins from five starts with prizemoney just shy of $200,000.
She is a half-sister to Group III winner Wandabaa, stakes-winner Malkovich and Group III placed Seewhatshebrings. Olentia is the third stakes-winner among seven winners from seven to race from terrific producer Mabkhara, whose yearling colt by Capitalist sold for $140,000 at Magic Millions this year to Darby Racing/ De Burgh Equine.
Mabkhara comes from the Asawir branch of the Easy Date family featuring Group I winners Rewaaya and Sense of Occasion so Olentia is going to be a very valuable broodmare prospect for the future with a G3 win next to her name.
Mabkhara was covered last spring by I Am Invincible after missing to Cosmic Force.
Olentia is the 35th stakes-winner for Zoustar and is his second stakes-winner from a daughter of Widden Stud’s former shuttler Anabaa (USA) joining fast Group III winning sprinter Zoustyle.
