A run against the boys in the upcoming Group 1 $1 million Australian Guineas (1600m) looks on the cards for the progressive Zou Dancer after her runaway five-length win in The Vanity 2021 on Black Caviar Lightning Day.
The nicely-bred daughter of Zoustar was a $150,000 buy at the Magic Millions Yearling Sales and is racing like a filly worth far more than that adding the Group 3 $160,000 The Vanity (1400m) to her record at HQ on Saturday.
Jockey Jamie Kah celebrated her 62nd win for the season with an early double on the day, her victory in The Vanity the definition of a sit and steer job on the punters’ pick.
Kah got the Leon & Troy Corstens-trained filly settled beautifully in second the fence as Longduan bolted out the gates and set a strong tempo up front.
Once on the straight, Zou Dancer quickly closed the gap and hit the lead 400m out before Kah went for home at the 250m extending the winning margin to five lengths on the line.
Zou Dancer trotted in in a very impressive effort from the fit filly in the mix following her mid-December victory at the same track and distance last start.
She beat a quality type home by the big margin too with Lindsay Park’s resuming VRC Oaks champion Personal making a nice return in second looking for further later this campaign, with the Danny O’Brien-trained Starelle finishing off The Vanity trifecta in third.
Co-trainer Troy Corstens confirmed plans to now set Zou Dancer for the 2021 Australian Guineas over the mile back at Flemington on February 27.
“I didn’t expect her to win by five lengths!” he told Thoroughbred Central post-race.
“I’d say we’d have to start looking at the Guineas now.
“You don’t put your cart before the horse, so we hadn’t really talked about where to next, but I’d say that’s where we’ll head.”
Corstens added that they were confidence off the filly’s performance in The Vanity that the step-up to a mile would not worry her.
“She settled up there, it was quite a nice speed early, she still had plenty in the tank coming around the corner and she kicked well,” he said.
“We’ve only had her for this preparation…she’s came to us in terrific order.”
Zou Dancer was $101 in all-in Australian Guineas betting before The Vanity results before being slashed to a $10 shot.
Click here for the latest futures Australian Guineas 2021 odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au.
2021 The Vanity Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | ZOU DANCER | Leon & Troy Corstens | Ms Jamie Kah | 4 | 57kg | $3.60F | |||
| 2 | 1 | PERSONAL | Tom Dabernig & Ben Hayes | Damien Oliver | 4.75L | 1 | 59.5kg | $4.60 | ||
| 3 | 6 | STARELLE | Danny O’Brien | Craig Williams | 5.25L | 3 | 56kg | $8.50 | ||
| 4 | 2 | ISLAND JOY (NZ) | Mathew Ellerton & Simon Zahra | Damien Thornton | 6.25L | 5 | 57kg | $5.50 | ||
| 5 | 7 | THUNDER PEAK | Michael Moroney | Mark Zahra | 7.25L | 8 | 56kg | $17 | ||
| 6 | 3 | VESPERTINE | Grahame Begg | Luke Currie | 7.65L | 7 | 57kg | $11 | ||
| 7 | 8 | A PINCH OF LUCK | Matt Laurie | Ethan Brown | 8.4L | 6 | 56kg | $21 | ||
| 8 | 5 | SALTO ANGEL (NZ) | Danny O’Brien | Damian Lane | 9.65L | 2 | 56kg | $8 | ||
| 9 | 9 | LONGDUAN | Patrick F Ryan Jnr | Michael Poy | 18.65L | 9 | 56kg | $101 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
