Unbeaten this year with four successive wins, this four year-old gelding is a horse going places with a facile victory at Flemington on ANZAC Day stamping him as a possible spring contender.
King Zephyr wins at Flemington - image Brett Holburt / Racing Photos
Combining the blood of two Twin Hills Stud sires, the Grahame Begg trained King Zephyr is by Hallowed Crown from a daughter of Smart Missile.
He had two starts last year for a win and a third and since returning a the start of the year has made rapid progress through his grades.
King Zephyr won at Pakenham and then twice at Sandown before coming to Flemington for a Benchmark 78 event over 1400m today with regular partner Jordan Childs steering him to a dominant two length win.
A $48,000 Inglis Premier purchase from Kelly Thoroughbreds for CF Hyland Racing, King Zephyr has won five of seven starts banking over $140,000 for his big group of happy owners.
King Zephyr has a lot of happy owners! - image Reg Ryyan / Racing Photos
“He's a nice horse going forward. He just keeps getting better and better with every start,” said Jordan Childs.
“We didn't do anything fancy today. We just wanted to keep him in the clear and ride him like the best horse and he really did the rest.
“He travelled well into it, but when he’s hitting the front, he just losing his action a little bit, so it's a good sign that he's not the finished product yet, and he'll keep improving as his preps go on.
“It just feels like we haven't got to the bottom of him yet, and he's winning his races quite easily, so it's very exciting. I'm not sure if Grahame tips him out or if he keeps him in for another one, but whatever he does, if he goes out and he's coming back for spring, I'm looking forward to it.”
King Zephyr is the first foal of Divine Breeze, a winning Smart Missile mare that was bred by Gorree Stud and is from imported metro winner History Maker (USA), who left six winners and is also the grand-dam of Group III winner Jaja Chaboogie.
King Zephyr’s sire Hallowed Crown stands at a fee of $8,800, while his dam-sire Smart Missile is priced at $13,200.
