Kiwi studs and syndicators to the fore on big day in Brisbane
Richard Edmunds - Raceform • June 13th, 2025 8:30 AM • 6 min read
Two of the three Group One races run at Eagle Farm last Saturday put the spotlight squarely on New Zealand studs and syndicators.
First up were the distinctive black and gold colours of Cambridge Stud, carried to a stunning victory by Joliestar in the Kingsford Smith Cup.
The Zoustar mare was sixth and half a dozen lengths from the lead with only 200m left to run, but she responded to the urgings of jockey James McDonald and came with enormous late bounds to reel in Zarastro and Golden Mile and snatch a last-gasp triumph.
It was the sixth win of a 15-start career for Joliestar and her third at Group One level, taking her past A$4.5 million in prize-money.
But an even bigger result for the New Zealand industry came just over an hour later in the Queensland Derby.
The (NZ) suffix was carried by five of the top six finishers in the A$1 million classic, including the trifecta, as Go Racing’s Maison Louis became the fifth consecutive Kiwi-bred winner – following on from Warmonger (2024), Kovalica (2023), Pinarello (2022) and Kukeracha (2021).
The John O’Shea and Tom Charlton-trained Maison Louis has come an enormously long way in a short time. He made his debut on February 12. Less than four months later, he is the winner of four of his seven starts including an irresistible burst out of the pack to take out the Queensland Derby.
Maison Louis was bred by Pencarrow Stud, who sold him to Go Racing for $250,000 during Book 1 of Karaka 2023. Go Racing now boasts two Group One winners from only 11 purchases at that sale, with Velocious having previously captured the Gr. 1 Sistema Stakes to secure champion two-year-old honours last season.
Saturday’s Queensland Derby continued a stellar run for New Zealand-bred three-year-olds in Group One races in Australia this year. Feroce had earlier won the Australian Guineas, Linebacker the Randwick Guineas and Aeliana the Australian Derby.
Notably, Feroce and Maison Louis were both bred by Pencarrow Stud. Even more remarkably, Feroce, Linebacker and Maison Louis all come from the first crop of Waikato Stud’s emerging megastar stallion Super Seth.
Now the sire of seven individual stakes winners from only 82 runners, and with 4.9 percent Group One winners to runners, Super Seth will stand for a $75,000 service fee next season.
Another significant aspect of Saturday’s result is that Maison Louis comes from Pencarrow’s iconic Richebourg family. The Derby winner’s dam is the Makfi mare Cote D’Or, whose eight wins included the Listed Matamata Cup, while close relatives include the likes of legendary mare Ethereal, five-time Group One winner Darci Brahma, Group One winner Grand Echezeaux and Group One performers Burgundy, Romanee Conti, Supera and Uberalles.
“With two three-year-olds that we’ve bred and sold going on to win Group One races in Australia, it’s certainly been a very special year for us,” Pencarrow Stud manager Leon Casey told RaceForm.
“But I think what Super Seth has achieved is the even bigger story. It’s fantastic for us as shareholders in him, and just great for the New Zealand industry to have a young stallion on the roll that he’s on.
“Three Australian Group One winners in his first crop, along with another one (La Dorada) in New Zealand in his second crop – not many have done that. They’ve come over distances ranging from 1400 to 2400 metres. He fits into a really good niche in the market for New Zealand.
“Maison Louis comes from what has been an incredible family for us. We have two or three main active branches going at the moment, and they’re going as well as each other. It’s a family that can stay, but has good natural speed as well. The family has just done an outstanding job over the past 30 years.”
In the lead-up to Karaka 2023, Casey saw some attributes in Maison Louis that could set him up for racetrack success.
“He was never overly big, but he really furnished heading into the sale and improved a lot with time,” he said. “He was a bit of a busy yearling, but by the time he made it to the sales, he coped with everything incredibly well.
“I thought a feature of the race on Saturday was how well he settled and the beautiful rhythm he got into. The slow pace and nice draw probably suited him. Ryan Maloney (jockey) said he did a great job of conserving his energy, and then he was able to show that acceleration in the straight.
“John O’Shea was impressed with how the horse coped with a big workload to come through the grades in a short space of time. He’s matured into a good-looking horse with an unflappable temperament. That’s held him in good stead and he’s done a brilliant job for Go Racing.”
Cote D’Or is the dam of three winners from three foals to race. Five-year-old Tavistock mare Dresse’ Par Joli has shown promise in an 11-race career for Allan Sharrock, recording two wins and five placings to date. Four-year-old Iffraaj gelding Shooting Stride was a maiden winner at Riverton in April.
The next foal Cote D’Or produced was a filly by Hello Youmzain, bought by Cambridge Stud for $300,000 from Book 1 of Karaka 2024. Cote D’Or has subsequently produced fillies by Almanzor and Proisir.
“We’ve kept the Almanzor filly, who’s just been broken in and is a lovely type,” Casey said. “The Proisir filly is really nice too and has the makings of a quality yearling next season.
“She was a late foal, so it was too late in the season to breed the mare again that time around. We’re yet to finalise her plans for next season, but it would be hard to argue against Super Seth at the moment. He offers some terrific lines for the family – Redoute’s Choice is his dam sire, while he has the Sadler’s Wells-High Chaparral and Sir Tristram-Zabeel lines up the top.”
