The $2.8 million Snitzel colt The Next Episode justified favouritism in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, giving Mark Zahra a winning return to the big stage at Flemington.
The Next Episode lived up to his billing in Saturday's Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington, holding off St Gotthard in a tight finish to give trainer Ciaron Maher one of the most valuable three-year-old sprint wins of the year.
Sent out the favourite, the Snitzel colt was ridden by Mark Zahra and found enough late to beat St Gotthard narrowly, with Mbube a close third at long odds.
A big win on and off the track
The Next Episode was bought by Maher as a yearling on the Gold Coast for $2.8 million, and Saturday's win adds a Group 1 to a record that now stands at five wins from seven starts. His lead-up win came in the Danehill Stakes, and the plan to target the Coolmore ran exactly to script.
A Group 1-winning sprinting colt by Snitzel is a very valuable stallion prospect, and the win is likely to lift his breeding value many times over what he cost.
Zahra back in the winner's circle
The result capped a good comeback for Mark Zahra, who was sidelined on medical advice after a fall on Half Yours in the Caulfield Cup and missed Cox Plate day. It was his third Coolmore Stud Stakes win, and his second in two years after Tentyris took the race twelve months ago.
The race at a glance
- 1st: The Next Episode (Ciaron Maher / Mark Zahra), favourite
- 2nd: St Gotthard
- 3rd: Mbube
The punting angle
Zahra rides Middle Earth for Maher in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup, and Middle Earth has drawn barrier 1. On Saturday's evidence there is no question mark over Zahra's fitness or form, so punters weighing up Middle Earth can focus on the horse and the draw rather than the rider. For St Gotthard, the run confirms him as one of the better three-year-old sprinters going into the autumn.