Australia: Zaaki seeks three-peat in Hollindale Stakes

Zaaki will be an odds-on favorite to win the Group 3 Hollindale Stakes at Sunshine Coast Racecourse in Australia for the third consecutive year on Friday evening.

The only significant differences from this year’s race compared to his wins in 2021 and 2022 are the venue and the timing of the Hollindale in relation to Zaaki’s season.

The race is normally held at Gold Coast Racecourse, but that track is undergoing a renovation.

Zaaki was in the midst of extensive campaigns when he won the Hollindale the last two years.

This year, Zaaki has started once, finishing second in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on April 15, his first start since a win in the Group 1 Mackinnon Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne last November.

Zaaki won six stakes in nine starts in 2021, rising in prominence in the Australian older horse division. In 2022, he won 4 of 10 starts.

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Trained by Annabel Neasham, Zaaki will be ridden by top Australian jockey James McDonald in the Hollindale. McDonald, who leads Australian jockey in earnings this season, was aboard Zaaki for the wins in the last two runnings of the Hollindale, which is run at 1 1/8 miles.

The Hollindale drew 12 entrants, including five horses trained by Chris Waller, who leads the nation in earnings this season.

Waller has the only other two runners in the field who were single-digit odds as of early Thursday – Atishu (6-1) and Diamil (9-1).

Diamil won the Group 3 JRA Plate Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Randwick on April 15. Atishu, a 5-year-old mare, won the Group 1 Queen of the Turf Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile at Randwick on April 8, her eighth win in her 30th start.

Sunshine Coast has a nine-race program on Friday, beginning at 11:08 p.m. Eastern, or 8:08 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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