Vale, Zed

Media Release - Monday September 16

Grangewilliam Stud stallion Zed, the sire of 11-time Group One winner and Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) heroine Verry Elleegant, has passed away, aged 22.

Zed has passed away.

“He suffered a bout of colic and the only option was surgery,” Grangewilliam Stud principal Mark Corcoran said.

“At his age, we just didn’t want to do that to him and unfortunately, we made the decision to euthanise him.”

The well-bred son of Zabeel had just four starts on the track before initially joining the stallion roster at Little Avondale Stud. He then spent time in the South Island where he was serving Clydesdale mares at Erewhon Station before his progeny started to make a strong account of themselves, encouraging Corcoran to enquire about standing him at his Waitotara farm in 2013.

The son of Zabeel produced the fairytale comeback as a sire, producing 187 individual winners, 17 at stakes level, and three Group One winners in Survived, Ladies Man and most notably, Verry Elleegant.

“I didn't have much in the way of stallion firepower at the time and I was looking for a horse. I noticed that the stock of Zed were just starting to perform on the race tracks,” Corcoran said.

“I approached Sam Williams, who did a really good job of kicking off his career at Little Avondale, and we came to an arrangement to stand him here.

“Not long after we had done the deal and we got him here, Zed popped up with some stakes horses like Survived and Ambitious Champion.

“He served a massive book that first year we had him (168 mares) and I think he was the busiest horse in New Zealand that year.

“It just went on from there and it is a story that people love. He was sacked to the back blocks covering Clydesdale mares and he came back and left a Melbourne Cup winner along with a lot of other really good horses.”

Verry Elleegant wins the Melbourne Cup - image Grant Courtney

Verry Elleegant’s achievements in Australia put Zed’s name up in lights, winning an incredible 11 Group One races at a variety of distances, including the Australian Oaks (2400m), Winx Stakes (1400m), Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) (twice), Caulfield Cup (2400m), and her crowning success, the 2021 Melbourne Cup (3200m), which provided Corcoran with a memory he’ll never forget.

“He's certainly been a great ambassador for Grangewilliam and having a superstar like Verry Elleegant put us in the spotlight,” Corcoran said.

Advertisement

“Zed has left us with many special memories. My family and local friends will all fondly remember sharing the excitement we had in our garden during COVID cheering Verry Elleegant home to win the Melbourne Cup.

“He’s kept the mares coming in the front gate over the years and kept us going through some tough times and we're in a place now where we've got some really nice stallions around us and a lot of that is thanks to Zed.”

Alongside the phenomenal mare, Ladies Man, the winner of the Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m), and Survived, winner of the Gr.1 Makfi Challenge Stakes (1400m), headlined the success of Zed in his homeland.

The versatility of Zed was exemplified with the success of Zed Em, a million-dollar jumping star who won 17 races, including three editions of the Von Doussa Steeplechase (3250m) and the iconic Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m).

On the day of his passing, Zed was once again in the forefront of the jumping scene, with his son Lord Spencer winning the Great Northern Hurdles (4200m) at Te Rapa for JJ Rayner.

“He's always been consistent and left those tough, hardy horses. They have plenty of his sire Zabeel in them and he left staying qualities,” Corcoran said.

“He sired the winners of most of the major Cups in New Zealand and obviously it’s the same with the jumping races.

“His progeny won pretty well all the major jumps races in Australia and New Zealand, with Zed Em winning in excess of A$1 million in prizemoney, while Affluential looks a rising star and only yesterday Lord Spencer won the Great Northern Hurdles.”

The legacy of Zed will live on, with the longevity and nature of his progeny ensuring he will be a part of New Zealand racing for many years to come.

“There’s certainly a nice volume still to come through as he covered books of 77, 51 and 46 over the past three years, so there should be some nice horses to look forward to,” Corcoran said.

“The great thing with them is they’re probably going to be around for a long time yet. As we know they take time and are still racing as nine and 10-year-olds, so we should be hearing about Zed for a long while to come.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk

Advertisment
More Reading...
Spring Goals Await Caloundra Cup Winner Half Yours
With spring staying features on their minds, Tony and Calvin McEvoy sent their improving stayer north to Queensland for Saturday’s $300,000 Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m) with instant success as the 4yo gelding Half Yours romped home by four and a half lengths.
Dubawi Colt from $US8million Mare Wins G1 Coral Eclipse for Coolmore
Blueblood Dubawi colt Delacroix was a beaten favourite in the Group I Epsom Derby when unplaced behind his stablemate Lambourn, but he found his time to shine overnight when scoring a miraculous last to first win in the Group I Coral Eclipse Stakes (1m2f) at Sandown.
Group 1 Durban July Success For Son Of Australian Bred Gimmethegreenlight
Although not having previously sired a winner of South Africa’s greatest race, the Australian bred, South African-based sire Gimmethegreenlight (More Than Ready) added a 13th individual Group 1 winner to his record when the Dean Kannemeyer trained The Real Prince (SAF) added Saturday’s R5m Group 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July (2200m) to his record.
Sword Poised to Strike
When the first crop yearlings by a young stallion are well received and go into the right stables that’s always a good sign and then a few months after that is when things start to get really interesting.
Sires With Winners - Friday July 4
Here is the full list of 38 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Sweet Redemption for Stable Favourite Jimmy the Bear
Patrick and Michelle Payne enjoyed a red letter day at Flemington on Saturday with their rising star Buccleuch winning the Listed VRC Taj Rossi Series Final and then later in the day stable favourite Jimmy the Bear won the Listed VRC Winter Championship Series Final (1600m).
2026 Golden Slipper Entries – Sortable, Sale Mail – Find Out More
The new season is nearly upon us and that means all over the country a new crop of rising two year-olds are taking baby steps in the best stables in the land with the Australian Turf Club announcing this week they had received 1927 entries for the 2026 Golden Slipper, so who is in the race?
New Juvenile Stakes-Winner Wootton Bassett
A two year-old Wootton Bassett  colt bred to stay, Daytona made it two wins as many starts when scoring a dominant win in the Listed Pat Smullen Stakes (1m) at Naas in Ireland overnight.
Sires With Winners - Saturday July 5
Here is the full list of 112 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Lisa Kennedy Recognized for Thoroughbred Welfare
Lisa Kennedy has always had a passion for thoroughbreds, and her efforts in guiding retired racehorses into new careers through EventStars were celebrated at Entain’s Industry Excellence Awards last Sunday as the winner of the Care and Welfare Excellence Award.