Success comes in all shapes and sizes and for the Bowness Stud bred Zoustar gelding Zounate, that success has come in the show ring with the eight year-old gelding taking out the 2024 Pope Cup at Sydney Royal last week for the best show hacks in Australia over 15 hands.
Bred by John North and his family at Bowness, the handsome chestnut was offered at the 2018 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale where he was bought by Elite Thoroughbreds for $80,000 by Elite Thoroughbreds.
Trained first by Gary Portelli and then Tony Gollan, Zounate was racing consistently, but struggling to break through racking up 11 placings in maiden class before being offered through Inglis Digital in April 2021 where he made $20,000 and was transferred to Mt Isa.
He won first up for his new connections winning by six lengths at Mt Isa and raced on until August 22 winning two more races and retiring with the overall record of three wins and 13 placings from 32 starts with prizemoney topping $77,000.
From there Zounate found his way into the care of leading Queensland show rider Riley Kent and his flashy chestnut good looks have made him a favourite in the show ring under his new name of Chorus.
Zounate is the best of three winners from winning Choisir mare Fascinating, a full sister to stakes-winner Choistar. She has a yearling filly by D’Argento and was sold last year on Inglis Digital for $900.
Zounate aka Chorus might not be the best racehorse sired by Widden Stud’s champion sire Zoustar, but he is the best in the show ring!
