Molloy, Zarhron chase first city success
If racing folk out west had to decide between Winx and Zarhron in a popularity contest, the darling of the Australian turf might not have it all her own way.
In fact, the central west NSW town of Cowra could be forgiven for rallying around their local racehorse who is striving for his 10th win when he makes a rare city appearance at Warwick Farm on Wednesday.
“He’s not Winx, we know that,” trainer Andrew Molloy said.
“But out here where he races he is pretty highly regarded just because of his flat-out sort of racing style.
“He’s a pretty easy-to-like sort of horse and he’s definitely got a little local following.”
Zarhron will be having his third Sydney start and Molloy rates the Coolmore Handicap as the sprinter’s best chance yet to give him city success after 16 years of training.
“It’s the most suitable city race I have found for him,” Molloy said.
“He’s got an inside barrier, he’s well weighted and it’s just not all city horses he will be up against.”
Zarhron goes into the race having won the Wellington Town Plate for the second time at his most recent start.
“If anything, he is going better now than when he won the race last year,” Molloy said.
“He ran faster time and he carried more weight this time.
“Money-wise, the Warwick Farm race is not that much different to Wellington.
“But at the end of his career it would be nice to say that he won a city race and that he wasn’t one of those horses that went down there and ran some good races.
“You hear too many of those stories.”
Zarhron is an $11 chance in a market that has Bjorn Baker’s promising young sprinter Brooklyn Storm as an early favourite.
Brooklyn Storm has missed a place only once in seven starts and there was much to like about Gosford win over 1100m when the three-year-old had almost four lengths up his sleeve.