Princess Zoe

Princess Zoe (foaled 11 March 2015) is a German-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. Beginning her racing career as a three-year-old in Germany, she showed modest racing ability in her native country, winning two minor events from fifteen starts. After being sold and exported to Ireland she showed remarkable improvement, winning five consecutive races including the Oyster Stakes and the Prix du Cadran.

Background[]

Princess Zoe is a grey mare bred in Germany by the Hesse-based Gestüt Höny-Hof. She was sent into training with Stefan Richter and initially raced in the colours of Stall TSF.

She was from the second crop of foals sired by Jukebox Jury (from whom she inherited her grey colour), a top class stayer whose wins included the Preis von Europa in 2009 and the Irish St Leger in 2011.^[2] Princess Zoe's dam Palace Princess won two minor races before becoming a successful broodmare whos other foals have include the Badener Meile winner Palace Prince.^[3] She was a female-line descendant of the British broodmare Ski Maid (foaled 1953) making her a distant relative of Blue Bunting.^[4]

Racing career[]

Early career[]

Princess Zoe was unraced as a juvenile and began her racing career by finishing ninth in a minor race at Hoppegarten on 25 July 2018 and then ran third at the same track on 11 August. On 9 September at Munich she recorded her first success when she was ridden by Martin Seidl and came home five lengths clear of her rivals in a minor event over 2000 metres on soft ground.^[5] After finishing second at Munich in October she ended her first season by winning a minor handicap race over 2200 metres at the same track on 1 November.^[6] Princess Zoe spent the 2019 season competing in minor handicap races at in Germany and failed to win in ten starts, mainly racing over distances of around 2000 metres. Her best efforts came when she finished second at Hoppegarten on 9 June, 3 October and 13 October.

2020: five-year-old season[]

In early 2020 Princess Zoe was bought by the Gowran-based trainer Anthony Mullins on behalf of the owner Paddy Keyhoe and Keyhoe's sister Philomena Crampton. Mullins had been unable to travel to Germany to view the mare owing to travel restrictions imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He later admitted "I was very lucky that I didn't go because when she arrived home, she has quite crooked legs. I know if I had went to Germany, I wouldn't have bought her so thanks be to God I bought her on the phone because when she arrived I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't send her back and they had been paid".^[7]

On her first run for her new connections, Princess Zoe finished second in a minor handicap over one mile and five furlongs at Navan Racecourse on 23 June. On 18 July the mare was ridden by the amateur Jody Townend in the Kildare Village Ladies Derby Handicap over one and a half miles at the Curragh and started the 4/1 second favourite in a fifteen-runner field. She recorded her first victory in over 20 months as she took the lead two furlongs from the finish and won "easily" by five lengths.^[8] Nine days later at Galway Racecourse Princess Zoe was stepped up in distance for a more valuable handicap over two miles and a furlong in which she was ridden by the amateur Finian Maguire and was assigned a weight of 150 pounds. Starting at odds of 7/1 she raced in mid-division before staying on strongly in the straight, taking the lead in the closing stages and winning by one and a quarter lengths.^[9] Five days later at the same track the mare contested a handicap over one and a half miles, and won "snugly" by half a length from Emperor of the Sun after gaining the advantage inside the final furlong.^[10]

Princess Zoe was then stepped up to Listed class for the Oyster Stakes over one and a half miles at Galway on 8 September when she was ridden by Joey Sheridan and started the 2/1 favourite, with the best-fancied of her twelve opponents being the improving handicapper Mighty Blue and the Epsom Oaks runner-up Ennistymon. In a race run in thick fog on heavy ground, the mare took the lead approaching the final furlong and won "comfortably" by one and three quarter lengths from Barrington Court.^[11] After the race Anthony Mullins said "It's a great relief to have that over, particularly to see her do it on heavy ground... This one has delivered every time – and it shows, though few and far between, that a small stable can compete at this level" before mentioning the Cesarewitch, Prix du Cadran and Cheltenham Festival as future targets.^[12]

Joey Sheridan was again in the saddle when Princess Zoe was sent to France and stepped up to the highest class to contest the Group 1 Prix du Cadran over 4000 metres at Longchamp Racecourse on 3 October. She went off the 3.1/1 second favourite behind the 2019 winner in a nine-runner field which included only one other Group race winner, namely Windstoss (Deutsches Derby, Preis von Europa). Racing on heavy ground, Princess Zoe settled in mid-division as the five-year-old gelding Alkuin set the pace, before starting to make sustained progress 1400 metres from the finish. She "reeled in" the leader in the straight, gained the advantage in the final strides and won by half a length.^[13] Mullins said "She just keeps improving and I believe there's more to come. She's so easy to train and I wouldn't have any worries about going back to a mile and a half. She's versatile but just doesn't want good to firm ground. If she tells us she's able, we'll return for the Prix Royal Oak."^[14]

As Mullins had predicted, Princess Zoe returned to Longchamp on 25 October for the Prix Royal-Oak over 3100 metres when she was ridden by Seamie Heffernan. Starting the 2.1/1 second favourite she stayed on in the straight but was unable to reach the leaders and came home fourth behind Subjectivist, Valia and .^[15]

Pedigree[]

References[]