Photo: Grant Peters via NZ Racing Desk
Zayydani’s (NZ) name will long be remembered at Lindsay Park after the Savabeel mare officially began the new phase of the stable’s history when she took the Listed Tattersall’s Gold Crown (2137m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The win in the A$200,000 race provided the newly formed training partnership of brothers Ben and JD Hayes with their first success.
"That was a great thrill even though it was all the way up at Eagle Farm," Ben Hayes told Racing.com from Caulfield.
"JD is back at the farm (near Euroa) and he is very happy. I am sure it’s a very big thrill for him. First winner a stakes winner so he might have one-up on Dad there.
"I think Dad will be the proudest father ever."
Dad, of course, is David Hayes, who’s move to Hong Kong paved the way for the newly-shaped partnership of Ben Hayes and his cousin Tom Dabernig, with that partnership ending just a week ago as Dabernig seeks a new challenge on his own with stables to come at Warrnambool.
It took the Hayes brothers just five days and seven runners to register their first win and Ben Hayes said he had hopes Zayydani could be known for more in the future than bringing up the first win for the new partnership.
"She’s a Savabeel mare that’s really on the improve and in the spring, she’ll be a five-year-old mare who could develop into a Caulfield Cup (Gr.1, 2400m) horse or maybe a Matriarch Stakes (Gr.2, 2000m) at the end of the carnival," he said.
"It’s a great way to kick-off the partnership with a listed race win and hopefully we can continue nice success like that."
The Hayes brothers were represented by long-time Lindsay Park stable foreman Gary Hennessy in Queensland, who said Zayydani had overcome a setback that threatened to derail her campaign.
"She got hurt in the float, and I thought she was buggered for this campaign,” Hennessy said.
“She made a miraculous recovery to win at the Gold Coast before winning here.
"She hasn't had the hell worked out of her, but she is tough. I thought on the corner she was struggling, then the next minute I thought she is going to win this, so it is great."
Zayydani is bred and raced by Brent and Cherry Taylor of Trelawney Stud, with the four-year-old mare securing a valuable black-type victory, having previous finished third at Listed level and fourth in last season’s Gr.1 South Australian Derby (2500m).
From one of Trelawney Stud’s best families, Zayydani is out of the winning Van Nistelrooy mare Ruqqaya (NZ), a half-sister to their homebred Ocean Park, and also the dam of multiple Group One winner and now sire Grunt (NZ) (O’Reilly).
Zayydani, who defeated Tavistock mare Walking Flying (NZ), becomes the 19th stakes winner for champion New Zealand stallion Savabeel this season alone. -NZ Racing Desk
