Zaaki near peak form
RIDING ace James McDonald says exciting rising star and “spunky dude” Zaaki reminds him of Hartnell when the champion Godolphin galloper was approaching the peak of his powers.
McDonald was once the Blue Army’s No.1 Australian-based jockey and rode import Hartnell in his early trials Down Under and to a pair of imposing Group 1 wins in 2015 in 2016.
Zaaki is preparing to step out as the $1.50 favourite in the $1.2m Q22 (2200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday after surging into Cox Plate favouritism with his devastating seven-length winning blitz in the Group 1 Doomben Cup.
McDonald wants to see the Annabel Neasham-trained import do it again on Saturday before he is declared the real deal for a race like the Cox Plate.
But McDonald knows he is on a hugely talented galloper and sees glimpses of the now-retired four-time Group 1 winner Hartnell in Zaaki.
“Zaaki is a spunky dude and he knows he is very good and he knows he is a cool dude,” McDonald said.
“He reminds me of a pretty good horse back in my Godolphin days.
“He is a very similar horse to what Hartnell was, a horse that has a high cruising speed and could dash off a fast pace and simply love it.
“The tougher the race, the better that Hartnell was, and I see a lot of that in Zaaki.
“Hartnell was a superb horse and this horse is not there yet, hopefully he can reach that level.
“I know Zaaki’s performance in the Doomben Cup was scintillating but I still want to see him do it again to be honest with you.
“If we are talking Cox Plates, I don’t think he has to improve much off that Doomben Cup win but he has still got to meet that expectation of consistently high standards so I’m looking forward to seeing if he can back it up.”
The rich Q22 looks like Zaaki’s race to lose if he turns up in the same form as when he last raced.