Zarzuela may well have been one of the favourites for the $70,000 Waikato Guineas yesterday, but her win exceeded the expectations of those closest to her.
Punters made Zarzuela a $5 second favourite for the group three 2000m event for three-year-olds at Te Rapa, Hamilton, and she was simply too strong.
But for Waikato trainer Mark Walker and his stable jockey James McDonald the victory came as a bonus in the lead-up to the $2.2 million New Zealand Derby (2400m) for three-year-olds at Ellerslie, Auckland, on March 6.
Zarzuela was having her first start for six weeks and following a training gallop during the week McDonald suggested to Walker it might be too much to expect her to win.
"I said to Mark that I thought she might need the run and Mark said the same," McDonald said last night.
Nothing much changed on raceday to alter their opinions, McDonald said.
"Looking at her in the birdcage today she was quite fat compared to the rest of them. Mark said she is still only 75 percent fit.
"For what she looked like and how she performed, she's just a super filly. She was just unbelievable today."
Zarzuela had been a $5 favourite for the New Zealand Derby but today her price had been cut to $3.50 by TAB bookmakers. McDonald said it was well warranted.
"I don't think you would get a staying three-year-old that would beat her at the moment. She's come back even better and stronger and can only get better.
"She's by Zabeel out of a group one winning mare (Star Satire). She's bred to be good and I think she absolutely is."
Zarzuela has now raced seven times for three wins and two seconds with yesterday's winning purse of $43,000 taking her earnings to $123,000.
Yesterday's race was just her third over a middle-distance. The previous two had been victory in the group two $100,000 Great Northern Guineas (2100m) at Ellerslie on December 26 after finishing second in the Great Northern Guineas Prelude (2100m) a fortnight earlier.
McDonald (18) continues to lead the national jockeys' premiership. He had 90 wins for the season prior to today's racing, which was a lead of 11 on his nearest rival, Opie Bosson on 79 wins.
Last season, McDonald won the premiership with 125 wins in just his first full season of riding but he said it was not an ultimate priority to repeat the dose this season.
He is thinking about spending the winter in Singapore where former New Zealand trainer Laurie Laxon is keen to seek his services.
"I'll probably be heading overseas in the winter. Laurie's very keen," he said.
McDonald yesterday allowed Zarzuela to drop to the back of the field from an outside draw only had Jungle Juice behind her in the middle stages.
Zarzuela was back on the inside as the home turn approached but McDonald was able to extricate her to the outside and after being the widest on the home turn she bounded to the lead half-way down the straight to score by three-quarters of a length.
Second was Corporal Jones who raced mid-field on the outer and loomed up on the home turn while two lengths away in third was Jungle Juice. The latter came between runners at the top of the straight and ran home strongly.
Half a head back fourth was Military Move, who raced outside the leader most of the way, followed closely by Imabayboy (fifth) and Tullamore (sixth).
The favourite Maciano had a good run three back on the inner but blundered near the 400m and though jockey Leith Innes rode the horse out initially he did not respond and finished ninth.
A subsequent veterinary examination of Maciano found no abnormalities.
