The Ciaron Maher stable is banking on the addition of blinkers to help French import Zabiari recapture his overseas form in the season’s final Sydney stakes race.
A dual Group 3 winner over a mile in France, Zabiari debuted locally in the Civic Stakes (1400m) last month, finishing mid-pack.
He has since completed a trial to keep him sharp, and Maher’s assistant trainer, Jo Gerard-Dubord, has noted the gear change has had a positive effect at home, with hopes this will translate to his race-day performance.
“He’s still an entire and he’s very casual,” Gerard-Dubord said. “The best of his trials here was the one with the blinkers on. He’s a lot sharper in them at home and on his best, he is certainly up to a race like this. Now he’s had the run here, blinkers going on, we want to see something from him.”
Gerard-Dubord, who is well-placed to assess Zabiari’s European form having honed his skills in his native France before coming to Australia, noted the horse’s past successes. Zabiari has also been placed twice in Listed grade at Deauville across his 12 overseas starts, and any rain on Saturday would not hinder his chances in the Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) at Rosehill.
Maher has also entered recent stable recruit Eliyass, but a final decision on his start will depend on the weather and scratchings.
The horse started strongly in Australia, winning his first three races during the spring of 2024, before his form subsequently declined.
After undergoing fetlock surgery and a stable change following a ninth-place finish in last year’s Group 1 Doomben Cup (2000m), Eliyass was well beaten in the Civic Stakes (1400m) first-up, and Gerard-Dubord expects him to need further racing to reach his peak.
“He was wide with no cover, and raced a bit fresh, so to the eye it probably looked plain, but it was just a starting point,” Gerard-Dubord commented. “He’s improved since, but he’ll take a couple of runs until he gets back to his best. We’ll probably work towards the Premier’s Cup Prelude. He’s a horse we need to have right for the spring, and it’s just finding the best path leading into it.”
The Winter Challenge has attracted a full field, headed by the Winter Stakes trifecta of General Salute, McHale, and Midnight Dynamite, in addition to the rejuvenated seven-year-old War Eternal, who has won three of his past four starts in Queensland.
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